Are you a newer author looking to publish your first (or next) book, but also wanting to ensure you give it the best possible chance at selling and reaching tons of readers?

When I started publishing in 2016, I released my debut novel (Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert) to an audience of crickets, made less than 50 sales in my first year (most of which came from friends and family), and considered my debut book release a complete failure.

I also vowed at the time that my first book launch would be the last flop I ever had.

In comparison, my most recent duology that I published (Kingdom of Sirens and Monsters) is my bestselling duology to date—and has been an amazing case study since I originally published it under a brand new pen name (Tara Quinn) which I built entirely from scratch and kept separate to my existing work and brand.

This series has sold copies every single month since the first book released in January, 2022 (which is better than any of my previous work). And it’s the first series I’ve been stopped on the street and ‘known’ for, in cities that aren’t my hometown.

So, what changed?

Ever since my debut book launch, I started developing and following a launch framework for all of my books. And I haven’t strayed from this formula over the years, I’ve simply improved on it and gotten better at the ‘steps’ every time.

I recently recorded the 2025 Book Launch Planning Workshop, an hour long FREE workshop which covers this exact launch framework that I have used for my past 10 books and have been using for my current, upcoming book release!

In the training, I share how to execute a variety of marketing campaigns during a book launch, including social media promotion, cover reveal strategy, ARC review strategy, release lead-up events, pre-order campaigns and email marketing strategy.

(P.S: Register here to receive a copy of the document I use in this training, which you can reference back to and use to tick off your launch to-dos).

Throughout this article, I’m going into more detail on the information covered in the free training above, but I’m also going to share a month-by-month breakdown of how I’ve been marketing and selling my eleventh book release, Blood Magic, as a real time example.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of all of that, here’s an overview of my signature launch framework that I’ve been using over the years for each of my books:

Pre-launch Phase (9 – 12+ months out)

Distribution Strategy

It’s important to note that each of my launches follow a ‘wide strategy’ — which is different to ‘rapid-release strategy’.

In a nutshell, what this means is that I distribute wide (e.g. Amazon, Kobo, B&N, libraries, etc.) rather than staying exclusive to Amazon (e.g. Kindle Unlimited), and I also do a much longer launch window (anywhere from 9 – 12 months). 

The reason for this is that my launches rely on a couple of key components, one of which is an audience for your book. And this takes time to build, so I like to start as far in advance as possible (often, before the book is even written).

Audience Building

The first 6 months of my launches are usually focused on audience building, and this is my #1 priority (other than writing the book itself). I tend to use social media for audience building, but there are other ways as well (keep reading for some additional ideas further down).

Some people ask me how you can build an audience and post to social media / promote your book before it’s even written. And to that, I have a few answers:

a.) Firstly, you’re not actually selling the book yet. You’re selling the concept/premise, rather than a completed product.

So, what you can be doing is putting out messaging promoting the premise, and funnelling people onto a waitlist for the final product (I’m currently doing this for my next planned duology, Midnight Curses, which I haven’t started writing yet but am pitching as ‘Winx Club meets The Bachelor’). 

b.) Secondly, your social media shouldn’t be just about your book—it should also be about you and your brand. So during this early phase, you can be sharing content around yourself as a writer, your inspirations, your values and the themes you write about. This builds your brand.

c.) Thirdly, most of your social media content at this stage will be tailored towards getting people interested in the book, rather than buying it. So think, educational content and hook content, rather than sales content.

This is super easy to create during the writing stage because a lot of it just requires you to source great quotes from your WIP or showcase interesting scenes from your book.

Longer Lead-Time PR

The pre-launch stage is also a great time to plan out any longer lead-time PR efforts you want to secure (e.g. awards, media placements, etc.) as many places book 6  – 9 months in advance. If you leave this until a few weeks out from your release day, you will miss these opportunities.

I don’t always include long-lead PR in my launches (it takes some planning and work to pull off) so I don’t consider it to be an essential piece of this strategy. But, it’s worth considering in case there’s a really valuable and worthwhile opportunity (such as a book award) that can help set your book apart and give it some clout or exposure.

I go into more detail on what to consider and when to pitch in the free 2025 Book Launch Planning Workshop above.

Production Phase (9 months out)

Editing and Cover Design

The production phase starts once you’ve finished writing your book and have it ready to send off to an editor. (Note: This means you’ve also had betas go through it and done any major rewrites required).

This phase is where I like to get a cover designed and do a cover reveal as well.

I do my cover reveal 6 – 9 months ahead of my release day in order to help build brand memorability, since it takes 7 – 8 impressions before a reader will even think about buying your book (let alone actually buy it).

The more times potential readers see your cover in the leadup to release day, the more impressions they will have had and the closer they will be to making a purchasing decision.

Email List Building

I also use my cover reveal as an opportunity to funnel the audience/following I’ve built over the past 6 months, and direct them towards a lead magnet. I often offer a preview at the first few chapters of the book in exchange for them joining my email list.

It’s so important not to rely on social media as your main platform for connecting with readers (just look at TikTok potentially getting banned in the U.S. as an example, and all the authors who are heavily reliant on that platform for generating book sales).

I highly recommend that you are funneling readers to either an email list, where you can directly email them as needed, or to a private group or community (e.g. Facebook Group, Telegram, Discord, etc.).

Collaborations and Visibility

One other thing I would be proactive at during this stage is building your network and collaborating often. Your network and your readers are two separate audiences, and they will serve separate purposes.

It doesn’t mean these audiences can’t overlap in how they’ll assist you and participate in your community, but your readers are the people who will buy and recommend your book to others, whereas your network (e.g. fellow authors, influencers, bookstore owners, etc.) are the people who can help you reach new audiences and gain visibility.

If you are struggling to build your audience and reach new people, this is a sign to do more networking and secure more collaboration opportunities (e.g. guest posting, podcast interviews, etc.) where you can borrow other people’s audiences to drive readers back to you.

Preparation Phase (3 – 6 months out)

Formatting and Distribution

The preparation phase can be done in a week, but it basically serves to set your book listing up to start selling it.

This is where you would finalise any book formatting, do all of your file uploading to distributors, and set up your pre orders.

ARCs Distribution

Once your book has been edited (at minimum) and formatted, I’d also start sending out ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) to potential reviewers, and acquiring some early reviews that you can use.

You want to give reviewers a 3 month lead time (minimum) because your book won’t be the only book they have on their to-be-read list. Whatever you do, don’t send out your ARC two weeks before the book hits shelves and expect them to churn out a review to you in that time.

Promotion Phase (3 – 6 months out)

Pre-order Campaign

The promotion phase starts towards the tail end of your launch because until you’ve built an audience (and have a way to start making sales), promoting the book is a waste of effort since you have nobody to sell to (again, I would focus on building an audience up until this point).

During the promotion phase, one of the big things you should do is have a pre-order campaign with incentives to start driving early sales. This means, you may offer early purchase bonuses for those who pre-order before the book comes out, to create a sense of urgency to buy sooner rather than later.

Events

I would also be doing events (either online or offline) in the lead up to release day. This is where you can lean on your network for opportunities, or reach out to local bookstores and libraries to see what you can coordinate for added promotion and exposure.

Short Lead-Time PR

This phase is also a great time to do some shorter lead-time PR efforts, such as a press release to local newspapers and securing any last minute interviews.

Post Launch (ongoing, post-release day)

Continued Outreach and Events

Following release day, I would be dedicating time to continued outreach to keep momentum going. This can include reaching out to bookstores and libraries, influencers and media for added placements and features, as well as reviewers for additional reviews.

I would also continue doing events to maintain exposure and opportunities to talk about your book and connect with new readers.

Email Marketing Strategy

Once a book is out, this is a great time to set up some sales automation in the back-end. The 2025 Book Launch Planning Workshop contains an excellent segment on email marketing strategy (including 2 separate strategies + different ways to do upsells and cross-sells).

Increased Exposure

To ensure you continue to reach new audiences and bring in new readers, I could consider starting some paid ads at this stage, and even doing a giveaway.

A Goodreads giveaway is one way to get a lot of eyeballs on your book without having access to a huge audience, but it’s a paid tactic. The other way to do it is to partner up with some similar audiences and put your books into a mass prize pool, to increase value and audience participation.

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Nuances and Considerations

Understandably, since we all have access to different resources, time capacity, and even write different genes, my exact framework may not work for everybody.

So, here are some considerations to factor in:

1. Short on time? – while everything I’ve listed above is pretty bare minimum for results, if you don’t have the time capacity to do all of the things listed above, I would focus on one outcome that will set you up for your next book launch.
   
   For example, one of the most important assets you can build is an audience. So, if you plan to release a series, I’d spend more time building and nurturing your audience than building trust through reviews or generating PR, because a loyal audience can always generate reviews and buzz for you later via word of mouth recommendations.
   
   Plus, if you get 2,000 readers on your email list who buy and enjoy book 1, you’ve got 2,000 readers who are likely to buy books 2, 3 and 4 going into your other launches (without having to re-build that audience from scratch).
   
2. Have a marketing budget? – if you have a budget (even if it’s $50) I highly recommend outsourcing some of your marketing so you can focus on writing, or other marketing activities that only you can do.
   
   For a lot of my early book launches, I spent a small $50 on a virtual book tour to generate reviews, rather than spending hours curating lists and sending out manual review requests. This saved me hours of time.
   
   Another consideration: if you’re short on time to do collaborations and get visible, consider paying for ads instead and funnelling people to your lead magnet (this will save you some additional time). You can then email them details of your pre-order campaign after they’ve had a chance to ‘try’ your work. 

3. Not writing fantasy? – the majority of books that have used my signature framework have been fantasy or romance, but I’ve also seen it work for niche genres like steampunk and historical fiction.
   
   This being said, it’s always valuable to listen to what those in your genre are doing, and take on advice that feels good to you. I always try to find out the rationale for a strategy before implementing, rather than taking it at face value.

4. Not using email? – if it doesn’t make sense for you to build and maintain an email list, I would 100% funnel people into a free group/community instead and host regular events in there.
   
   The events can be centered around seasonal sales promotions, guest authors, or even sneak peeks and teasers of your upcoming book. Regardless, a community is a great way to keep readers engaged, connected and up-to-date on your releases.

5. Want a shorter launch timeline? – I get it, those longer launches may not work for everybody (maybe you just get bored after a certain point, or you have a lot of ready-to-go books you want to get out quickly).
   
   In this case, I would follow just the production -> preparation -> promotion phases of the framework and shorten these to your liking. Combine some of your audience building from the pre-launch into your production phase, and shorten your pre-order campaign into a 2 – 6 week window.
   
   Cut out anything unnecessary and try to release your books strategically so they naturally build onto one another, leading people to the next release.
   
6. Doing direct selling? – I have only just started to incorporate this into my launches with my current launch, Blood Magic – and I did this by offering direct, exclusive presale pricing from the production phase through to the preparation phase.
   
   Once my book goes live on all distributors, I price match across all listings and go into my ‘regular preorder campaign’ for the final stretch of the launch.

7. Want to run ads? – I have not typically run ads for any of my launches yet, but if you want to incorporate this I would consider running ads in the ‘promotion phase’ of your launch to drive sales.
   
   I would also consider running a Facebook/Instagram ad in the ‘production phase’ with the intention of driving email list signups (e.g. offering the first 3 chapters). 

8. Don’t want to use social media? – While I strongly recommend using social media, I’ve had a couple of clients over the years that do really well at book events in their local community, so they use the events to drive readership rather than relying on social media strategy?
   
   Have a cover reveal? Tease the reveal happening at that event. Trying to build an email list? Have a QR code at your stall and include it on a business card with every purchase. Having a great convo with someone? Invite them to join your street team to receive an ARC for an upcoming book. Need more visibility and exposure? Partner up with a fellow author for a joint event or tour!
   
   Almost everything covered in this framework can be translated to a different platform, whether it’s a podcast or a YouTube channel or events you’re doing. The principles and intended outcomes are the same, it’s just the execution that changes—so think outside the box!

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My complete launch breakdown for Blood Magic:

July – August

Book Writing:

From July – August I wrote Blood Magic (102,749 words) and maintained my online presence primarily through batched and pre-scheduled, personal brand building content during this time so I could focus on writing.

Future Planning:

I had also booked a book-based photoshoot for September and didn’t want to kick off my social media campaign until I got my photos back, so I had been batching and prepping 6+ months worth of social media content for a while at this point.

September

Beta Readers:

My book went off to beta readers for the month, and I focused on getting as prepared and ahead as possible with my other marketing activities.

Book-Based Photoshoot

I also completed my book-based photoshoot during this month, which would provide on-brand imagery to use throughout my marketing efforts.

October

Social Media Campaign

This month officially kicked off my social media marketing efforts for the book, with a variety of content types:

• Book promo content – This was any kind of content that was directly related to Blood Magic’s launch campaign (e.g. pre-order announcements), or educating people about the book (e.g. discussion videos, highlighting book tropes, etc.)

• Storytelling content – To connect my personal brand and build an emotional connection with my audience, I used my book-based photoshoot images to tell stories around the book – including inspirations behind the book, insights about the characters, and exploring some of the themes covered.
  
  (P.S: Storytelling content has been foundational in building my brand over the years. I have a great mini training on how to do storytelling content here).

• Hook and delight reels – These were videos that showed snippets of my book, structured intentionally to hook people’s curiosity then showcase a core reading desire that would speak to them. The video format was also done for discoverability and to assist the algorithm in getting my book discovered.

• Book quotes – These were static images showcasing some of the best quotes from my book, that I knew would speak to core reading desires and draw people in. It was simply another way to display the information—you never know which scene from a book is going to be ‘the one’ that helps people decide that they want to pick it up.

• Sharable content – This was relatable and funny content that was designed to be shared with ease by fellow authors or by those in the bookstagram community, helping me to reach new audiences and gain exposure.

• BTS / Personal content – This was anything going on behind-the-scenes that I felt there was value in sharing, to help people get to know me and my brand (e.g. showing behind-the-scenes at my photoshoot, or writing new chapters).

Book Cover Reveal + Lead Magnet:

I also did a cover reveal for the book and released the first 3 chapters of the book as a preview, which people could unlock when they joined my email list.

Upon receiving the first 3 chapters, people would receive an automated, follow up email inviting them to pre-order at presale price ($2.99) which was only available until the end of October.

The reason this worked is because the book was not yet listed on any online distributors (e.g. Amazon, Kobo) so the only way to get the preview for the book was to join my mailing list, and the only way to pre-order at this point in time was through that direct invitation via email.

There was also a sense of urgency since it was the lowest price it would ever be, and there was a limit on how long that price would be available for.

November – December

Early Pre-order Campaign Push

During this time, I continued to publish my social media campaign. But I also started promoting the pre-sale for the book on my Instagram stories.

As part of my pre-order strategy, the price had now increased to $4.99 and was due to go up again at the start of January, 2025. This created some urgency to pre-order sooner rather than later as this was, at the time, the cheapest price the book would be priced at.

I also incentivised that those who pre-ordered early could unlock up to 4 bonus chapters (set to drip out from Jan – Apr, leading up to release). This meant, the earlier in this timeline that people pre-ordered, the more bonus chapters they would unlock access to.

Again, the book was not yet listed on any distributors, so the only way to pre-order was directly through me and they would save money by doing this.

Final Book Rewrite

I got beta reader feedback by the end of October, so I started implementing the feedback throughout November and finalised my first round of edits by early December. I then sent this off to my actual editor with the loose timeline to get it back by mid-January for final polishing. 

Commissioning Character Art

I had plans during this book release to do a PR box for the first time ever, so I had some character art commissioned of my main characters (Percy and Fleur) to put onto vintage fridge magnets as part of the box.

My aim was to have these PR boxes available by the end of January, so throughout December I began sourcing everything I’d need for these and designing additional inclusions for the box (such as bookmarks).

January

Book Edits

My book finally went off for editing in mid-December and came back mid-January, so I was able to finalise edits and get my listings up by the start of February. This was later than I initially wanted, timeline wise, but it all worked out in the end.

Final File Uploading

I was able to finalise the formatting and get the final finals uploaded to all distributors by start of February, right in time for my second-last price increase (as soon as the listings went live for wide bookstores and retailers, my direct-purchase price went up to $6.99 as promised to match the price I had set across all retailers).

Early Pre-order Campaign Push

As mentioned above, part of my pre-order campaign push was to incentivize early purchases of the book.

Starting in January, I began releasing one bonus chapter to early purchasees at the end of every month. Those who continued to purchase directly via me were the only ones to unlock these bonus chapters, giving them an extra incentive to purchase through me rather than through a third-party retailer.

Because everything was $6.99 at this stage of the launch, it was really just a matter of personal preference and whether the reader wanted some extra content with their purchase.

Paid Ads

I finally bit the bullet this month and created a paid advertising plan for the next 5 months (leading up to Blood Magic’s release and beyond).

At this stage, I was still very much in a testing phase with my ads and deciding how I wanted to proceed with them, but I was following this excellent guide on Kindlepreneur’s site which helped a lot with my initial ads.

My strategy has looked like:

• Boosting 1 x Blood Magic post per month to assist with readership lead acquisition and exposure of the book — I’ve already seen some pre-sales from doing this and in future, I will continue boosting at least *one* post relating to an upcoming book launch every month leading up to release for added brand awareness and impressions.
• Running 1 x ad per month that drives conversation (e.g. leads or sales).

In January I just focused on a boosted post and ran a test conversion ad for a different book.

February

Paid Ads

In February, I focused on running an ad to my signup for the first 3 chapters of Blood Magic (for 30 days) and did another boost on one of my Blood Magic posts for added book awareness.

DropCap Marketplace

Since my book listing went live in January, I was able to get the book listed on DropCap marketplace for foreign rights acquisition by February.

ARC Outreach Efforts

Starting mid-February, I began reaching out to 300 early reviewers for Blood Magic. By mid-March I finished this effort and was able to secure 70 ‘yes’ responses to my 300 pitches sent, and by the start of April almost 30 of these reviews had been delivered.

(You can read my full, step-by-step strategy for how I achieved this here).

Proof Copy + Print Copies

At the end of February I was able to review a proof copy of my book (all good!) and proceeded to order a large batch of books for various promotional activities, including giveaways, PR boxes and other initiatives.

March

Paid Ads

In March, I focused on running an ad to promote pre-sales for Blood Magic (for 30 days) and did another boost on one of my Blood Magic posts for added book awareness.

PR Boxes

Due to a series of events, I wasn’t able to finalise my PR Boxes until late March, but I did eventually get these all packed and sent out! (You can see how they turned out here).

Media Outreach Efforts

Back in February I began the efforts of pitching a number of media outlets and drafting pitches to go out in March. I started to see the results of this in mid to late March.

• The first result was when my Writer’s Digest article came out on March 9th.
• The second was when I connected with a journalist who writes for Bustle, Betches, and a ton of other large publications, who accepted a physical ARC copy of my book (not a guaranteed article, but I do think she’ll love reading it and will find some great content angles that align with her previously published pieces).
• The third was when a local journalist in my hometown agreed to do a story on the release of Blood Magic.

Any other results of my outreach efforts are yet to be confirmed, but I will come back and update this guide when I know more.

Book Two

In March, two exciting things happened:

• I made 40k words worth of progress on Book Two (very important to ensure the second book comes out on time)
• I got the finalised cover for Blood Magic‘s sequel, which means I can plan my first ‘momentum building’ event for post-Blood Magic‘s release: the cover reveal for book two! I already have a grand idea for what I want to do for this. 👀

Sales Emails

At the end of March, I reviewed how many leads my ads have bought in via my free, 3 chapter preview signup (the answer: a LOT) and scheduled 3 promotional emails to go out reminding people to get their copy, just to get those last minute pre-sales through the door.

April

Sell Sheets

I actually had my sell sheets ready to go back in January, but I was waiting on my final cover wrap to confirm some of the details… and then after I ordered them, the post office lost them. 😅 So I’m doing my bookstore rounds much later in the launch than I initially wanted to be doing them, BUT will be doing them soon (and will update this guide when I get around to it).

Giveaways

I’m in the process of planning a number of giveaways, one of which I’ve already done:

• Because I had a leftover PR Box, I did a 1 week giveaway where I gave that away and incentivized people to gain entries by sharing content around Blood Magic for added awareness. One lucky winner won the PR Box.
• I am planning a second giveaway that will be tied to the cover reveal for Book Two.
• I’m also planning a third giveaway in collaboration with a fellow author for post-release.

Register for the 2025 Book Launch Planning Workshop

Ready to execute your very own book launch and have your best book release yet?

Don’t forget to register for The 2025 Book Launch Planning Workshop for a copy of the launch actions checklist! There’s also a special invitation for those who register before Monday, 6th January 2025.