book publishing schedule
What's the Best Time of Year to Publish?
October 12, 2011
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by Carly Willsie
Now that it’s the middle of October, the weather is getting cooler (even here in Texas!), lawns are getting leafier, and we’re starting to look forward to the holiday season.
Chances are you’re going to be seeing a lot of bestseller pushes and a lot of flashy book displays as the holidays approach. If you’re an author with a manuscript, you’re probably wondering if you, too, should be getting in on the holiday rush. But when, really, is the best time to publish?
Publication date is mainly driven by production milestones—finalizing the manuscript, completing the book cover, converting to ebook formats, and setting the printing timeline. And publication dates have become more fluid as POD and ebook models continue to thrive. If you’re working with a traditional publisher, you might find that you have no control over when your book hits the shelves. However, if you’re self-publishing or working with an independent publisher like Greenleaf, you might have some say in your publication date.
Author and publishing veteran Jeffrey Krames advises that business books usually sell well in the earlier autumn months, while coffee table books, fiction, and big biographies all do well around the holiday season, since they are more often given as gifts. Fall months are traditionally a good time to publish for most genres. It allows booksellers to stock the title for the holidays, and also capitalizes on the “back to school” mind-set.
Late November and December can be tricky publication months. Not only is there rampant holiday clutter in pretty much any retail environment, but many booksellers have also already made their buying choices for the Christmas season. End-of-the-year publication also superficially cuts off your book’s longevity. A book published on December 30, 2011, will seem older than a book published January 2, 2012—even though they’re technically only a few days apart.
If your publication date gets pushed back to November or December, don’t fret. If you’re doing your job right—that is, marketing your socks off—you’ll be able to overcome any timing snafus. If you’re publishing an ebook, having a December pub date might even work in your favor, as many people with new ereaders may be surfing for new authors.
January is also a great publication month for many genres. Self-help, fitness/health, and many financial titles will do well at the beginning of the year as people take on a “new year, new you” mind-set. If you’re publishing in one of these genres, timing your date to coincide with the beginning of the year could be a good idea. Summer months might also be a good choice—especially for digital books—as many vacation-goers browse airport bookstores and ebook outlets searching for something to take with them on their trips.
As you go into the production process with your book, don’t obsess about your pub date, but do take advantage of it, if possible. Just remember—if you have the right content, a developed platform, and a marketing push behind your book, it has the potential to do well any time of the year.
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Shotgun Publication
January 9, 2007
by Clint Greenleaf
Rushing a book to market without understanding all the consequences of your decision is about as bright as marrying someone you meet in Las Vegas after a fifteen-hour drinking binge. Even if the reasons behind the rush seem legitimate, beware of the beer-goggle effect—your book won’t look nearly as attractive when it comes off the press as it does in your head when you’re deciding to skip vital steps in the publication process. There are three areas where rushing will come back to haunt you with particular vengeance:
Editing
Your content has to deliver the goods. Editing isn’t just about making sure your book is free of typos and grammatical errors—it’s the part of the process that focuses on sharpening the reading experience for your customers. If you don’t invest the time and money to have experienced book editors work with your book, success in this industry will be an uphill battle. Don’t try to justify your rush by duping yourself into believing that you can save time-consuming editorial work for the second edition or the next printing. Crappy books don’t go into multiple print runs or second editions. It’s like not showering before a first date and thinking that you can always wash up for the second date—unless you’re meeting the Vegas drunk from the scenario above, there’s no way you’re getting the second date, stinky. It’s worth the delay in your book launch to work with an editor who can help you develop a rock-solid title, unique hooks, a smart structure, and a compelling voice. If you rush the editorial process, you’ll compromise the integrity of your work for short-term gains. Is a goal like having books in time for one event really worth that?
Design and Printing
While powerful marketing, a strong author platform, and compelling content are essential for a book to succeed, production quality is equally important. And yet there are countless articles that downplay the importance of quality, often making the obtuse argument that anyone with Photoshop or InDesign can throw a book together in no time, or that the difference between top quality and bottom quality is negligible due to advances in technology. Both assertions are appalling fallacies. The quality of your design and printing determines what kind of first impression your book will make. Retail buyers, book reviewers, and consumer make gut decisions based on this first impression, so while good quality costs money and takes time, this is not an area in which it is okay to be either cheap or hasty.
Sales and Publicity
Sometimes, we’re at the mercy of others. Pitching your book to retail buyers and media outlets is one of those times. If you want to sell your books in bookstores or other trade outlets like Costco and Wal-Mart, know that it takes almost twelve months to get your books ready for distribution. This time is spent setting up the title in wholesale and retail systems, presenting to buyers, and preparing the logistics for an on-time launch. And there’s similar time sensitivity inherent in a proper publicity campaign. You only have one book launch, and if you don’t get advance review copies to reviewers at least four months prior to publication, your print campaign has virtually no shot at success.
Deciding to produce a book on an abbreviated timeframe may be possible from a purely logistical standpoint, but you shouldn’t rush your book launch unless you’re prepared to have a product that isn’t set up to reach its full potential. So take a breath and slow down. The book of your dreams will wait for you. If you follow the rules and wait too, the launch will be much more special. If you know what I mean.
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