Posted: July 9, 2024

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You’ve been working on your book for a while now. You’ve gone through the gruelling process of writing, editing, rewriting, designing, and proofreading it. It’s your baby—of course you’ll want it to do well. That is exactly what makes the Release so important.

What is a Release Date?

Quite simply, it’s the day your book becomes available to the public for purchase. Oftentimes, it’s also the day of your book’s Launch: an event at which you sell your book directly to fans (though a launch can also happen after the official release).

Be sure to choose your release date with some care. You may be tempted to set the date to right after the book is “finished”, but if that’s the case, how have you been marketing your book ahead of time? Have you gotten ARC readers and given them enough time with the finished product to provide reviews right away?

Perhaps I should back up a bit. What is Marketing, and what are ARC Readers? You can find both these topics in separate articles on my website here:

[Related articles: What is Book Marketing?; What is Book Promotion?; What is an ARC Reader?]

If you already know what these are, read on.

How to Choose a Release Date

There are a few different ways to choose a good release date for your book.

1. The Date is Significant to Your Book

This only works in some cases, and it really depends on your book and that book’s audience. For a self-help book about healthy marriages, you may choose to release your book in or around June or September: both very popular marriage months. One client of mine has written a book series about the supposed UFO landing in Roswell in 1947, so an ideal date for him would be July 8, the date of the original event. The same method can be used for books focusing on other historical events.

2. The Date is on (or before) a Holiday Significant to Your Audience

Right away, a few dates come to mine. Books set around Christmastime would obviously be released leading up to Christmas, which encourages readers to buy the books for themselves for over the holidays, or to buy them for others as gifts to open and read on the day itself. Other holidays include Mother’s Day or Father’s Day for books focusing on parent/child relationships, Halloween (or spooky season) for mysteries, thrillers, or other spooky tales, and so on. June (or May) is an excellent month to release Pride-themed books or books with LBGTQIA+ characters/topics.

The main thing to consider is “Who is buying your book?” and “When are they likely to get it?” Releasing your book a week or two before the holiday in question is advised, as it allows the audience to buy the book as a gift (to themselves or their loved ones).

3. The Date Lets Your Finished Book Breathe

If you don’t have a specific date in mind, you may want to set it to release the moment the last proofread has been completed, but this would be a mistake. The release is the first big selling period for your book, so you don’t want to rush it. Have you considered the following?

• Do your ARC readers have ample time to read your book and write their review before the release?
  You should give them the final version of the book, and you want them to post their review within a week after the book has been released. Give them enough time to properly read it. Less than 10k? Give them at least a week. More than 60k? Give them a month (or two). Have ARC readers is essential to rocketing your book up in the algorithm with immediate reviews. It’s not always easy to find ARC readers who will follow through. (Try also reaching out to book reviewers who you know are guaranteed to read and review your book. Remember, NEVER PAY for a review!)
• Have you done sufficient marketing?
  Be sure to share progress updates about your book as you’re working on it to build a fanbase. Something cool you can do is a cover build-up and reveal to entice readers. You can share fun facts you’ve learned while researching for your book. You can connect with other writers by joining genre-specific groups or by sharing writing advice that you’ve learned along the way.
  Make an official announcement about the book’s release date (one or two months in advance) and start really building interest in your book. Find your audience. Do the most advertising about a week before the release.
• Will you host an event for your launch?
  This could be anything from a Facebook livestream (great for first-time published authors) to a full launch at a bookstore (typically for authors with more published books under their belt). Invite people to attend your event and entice them with free bonus content (q&a with author/you, a bonus chapter of the book, a bookmark, sign their copy, etc.).

The month, and even the day of the week, of your book’s release can dictate the success of your sales. Big publishers often release books on Tuesdays, which many indie authors agree with. The beginning of the week is the best time, especially if you’re self-publishing through Amazon (because of the way Amazon records weekly sales). Getting a bunch of sales before the weekend is a great method of reaching “bestseller” status, which is given if you sell a lot of books within a short time period.

Aim to release your book within the first two weeks of the month in which you’ve chosen your date. This, like with beginning-of-the-week releases, helps you build momentum for the month’s end.

Having a Successful Launch

A successful launch can make or break your book’s popularity, and making it successful is so much easier with a team working beside you. If you can, ask for help from family and friends. Ask your local writing group (if you’re in one) for their support.

A launch team doesn’t need to do much, but the more they do, the better your launch will go. It could be as simple as them sharing content on their social media or telling their family and friends about your book. Word-of-mouth is the #1 method of selling books. While family can’t review your book (for bias reasons), they can support you in other ways. It never hurts to ask.

Best of luck to you and your book release!

Related Articles:

10 Strategies for Promoting Your Book for Free
Setting Up an Author Website
10 Tips for New Self Publishers

Related What is...? Articles:

What is an ARC Reader? [review reading — at launch]
What is Book Marketing? [marketing]
What is Book Promotion? [marketing]
What is a Book Launch? [launch]
What is a Target Audience? [marketing]