Your Book Launch Checklist: Before, During and After Launch Day

ByFD3_adm

A lot of authors treat launch day like a finish line. They hit publish, post once on Facebook, and wait.

Then nothing much happens, and they decide the book “didn’t sell.”

A book launch isn’t a day. It’s a few weeks of preparation, a push, and a follow-through. Here’s a simple checklist to help your book get off to a real start.

4 to 6 weeks before launch

  • Lock in your cover and interior. Order a printed proof and read it cover to cover.
  • Finalize your book description. Lead with the hook, keep paragraphs short, and end with a reason to buy now.
  • Choose your categories and keywords on KDP. Specific categories are easier to stand out in.
  • Get your author website ready with a page for the book, buy buttons and an email signup. (Here’s what every author website needs.)
  • Line up early readers. Give advance copies to people who are likely to enjoy the book and are willing to leave an honest review after launch.
  • Make a list of everyone who might help: friends, colleagues, groups you belong to, podcasts and blogs in your niche.

2 to 4 weeks before launch

  • Create your launch graphics. Book cover mockups, quote cards and announcement images sized for each platform you use. Keep them consistent with your cover.
  • Write your launch emails to your list: an announcement, a launch-day email and a reminder.
  • Pitch podcasts and blogs. Lead with what their audience will get, not just “I wrote a book.”
  • Set up your Amazon Author Central page with your bio and photo.
  • Consider a preorder so you can start promoting with a live link.

Launch week

  • Email your list on launch day. This is usually your single biggest source of first sales.
  • Post on every platform you’re active on, with your launch graphics and a direct link.
  • Ask your early readers to leave their reviews.
  • Thank everyone publicly who shares or helps.
  • Do the interviews and guest posts you lined up.
  • Check your Amazon page. Make sure the description, cover and categories look right.

The weeks after launch

This is where most authors stop, and where steady sales are actually built.

  • Keep showing up. Share reader reactions, behind-the-scenes stories and short excerpts.
  • Keep pitching podcasts, local media, book clubs and groups.
  • Collect reviews. A gentle reminder to readers goes a long way.
  • Add the book to your email signature and everywhere your name appears online.
  • Test small ads once you have some reviews, if your budget allows.
  • Start planning the next book. Nothing sells your first book like your second.

The launch mistakes I see most

  • Starting promotion on launch day instead of weeks before
  • No email list, so there’s no one to announce the book to
  • A cover or description that doesn’t match the genre
  • Graphics that look different on every platform
  • Asking for reviews only once
  • Going quiet after the first week

Make your launch look as good as your book

A professional cover is your launch’s centerpiece, and matching graphics make every post, email and ad look like it came from the same publisher. Every Author Design Studios cover package includes matching web and social media graphics, and our Author Pro Package adds a complete author website with email signup ready for launch day. See the packages.

Not ready for that yet? Start with our free guide, From Rejection to Revenue.

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