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How to Launch a Book: An 8-Week Book Launch Checklist
By AuthorWings editorial team
12 min read
Short answer
A book launch is the planned push around your release date that tells readers your book exists and gives them reasons to buy it early. Start about eight weeks ahead: set the date, send early copies, set up your book page (and a pre-order, if you use one), line up promotions, then keep going for a month after launch day.
A launch doesn’t need a big budget, but it does need an order. This guide explains what a book launch is, what must be ready before you start, and an 8-week checklist that runs from early copies to the month after release. The launch countdown below turns the checklist into dates for your own launch day. If you’d rather hand it off, our book launch services run the plan with you, in your name. Writing for children? Parents, teachers and librarians buy differently; see launching a children’s book.
What a book launch is
A book launch is a campaign, not a single day. For about two months before release and one month after, you put the book in front of readers through your list, early readers, other authors, stores and any promotions you choose. Launch day is simply the day the book goes on sale.
Some people use “book launch” for an event: a reading, a signing or an online party. That can be part of the campaign, but it’s optional.
There are two common approaches:
- Hard launch: you announce a date, take pre-orders or build interest, and concentrate your promotion in launch week.
- Soft launch: you publish quietly, check that everything works and collect early reviews, then do your main push a few weeks later.
Before the countdown: what must be ready
Start the 8-week clock only when these are done or nearly done. A launch can’t fix a book that isn’t ready.
- An edited manuscript. Early readers and reviewers notice editing problems, and early reviews stay on your book page.
- A finished cover. Your cover reveal, store pages and ads all use it.
- A realistic launch date. Allow time for KDP’s review and proof copies. Our KDP launch date planner works out the upload deadlines.
- A place for readers to land. A simple home base with a newsletter signup. If you’re starting from zero, see how to build an author platform.
If the book isn’t finished yet, the self-publishing steps come first.
The 8-week book launch checklist
Each stage lists what to do and why. Dates are counted back from launch day.
Weeks 8 to 7: set the plan
- Confirm your launch date and formats. Decide which formats come out on launch day: ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook.
- Decide on KDP Select. Enrolling in KDP Select makes your ebook exclusive to Amazon for 90-day terms that renew unless you turn renewal off; print can still be sold anywhere. Decide before you set up other ebook stores. Select requires your ebook to be exclusive to Amazon, so check its terms before sending ebook early copies outside Amazon, or enroll after they’ve gone out.
- Write your book description and a one-line pitch. You’ll use them everywhere. The free book description generator gives you a first draft to edit.
- Check your home base. Make sure your website and newsletter signup work, and add a “coming soon” page for the book.
- List your early readers. Write down readers in your genre who might read an early copy: newsletter subscribers, reader groups, book bloggers and reviewers.
Weeks 6 to 5: early readers and your book page
- Send early copies. Give advance reader copies (ARCs: free copies before release) through a delivery tool or a reader platform. Ask readers for an honest review if they choose to write one, never a required or positive one.
- Set up the pre-order or release date. On KDP, ebooks can go on pre-order up to 18 months ahead (for pre-orders set up on or after 2 September 2026), with the final file due at least 72 hours before release. Print books can’t take pre-orders, but you can schedule a print release 5 to 90 days ahead.
- Claim your author profiles on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub once the book is listed, with the same photo and bio.
- Line up other authors. Ask authors in your genre at your stage about newsletter swaps: each of you tells your readers about the other’s book in launch week.
Weeks 4 to 3: build interest
- Order a printed proof of each print edition and check it page by page.
- Reveal the cover to your list and on the channel you use most.
- Plan your launch emails. Three is a simple pattern: launch day, mid-week, and the last day of any launch price.
- Talk to local stores and libraries. Introduce yourself and the book, and ask about a reading or a copy for the shelf. An event is optional; see these book launch party ideas.
- Decide on promotions and ads. Deals newsletters usually need a discounted price: a BookBub Featured Deal, for example, needs the ebook free or at least 50% off, at its lowest price in 30 days and not lower soon after. If you plan one, don’t run a lower launch price in the 30 days before it. Ads are optional. They send readers to your book page, so it helps to have some reviews first; you can wait until after launch.
Weeks 2 to 1: final checks
- Upload final files with time to spare. For an ebook pre-order, the final file must be in at least 72 hours before release; for a scheduled print release, you can’t change the files, details or date, or order author copies, in the last 5 days.
- Remind early readers of the date, and tell them you’ll send the store link on launch day.
- Make a share kit: your cover image, store links, the one-line pitch and a short description, ready for anyone who offers to post about the book.
- Schedule your launch emails and posts.
Launch week
- Check every store page: price, description, categories and formats. On Amazon, a new ebook can take up to 72 hours to show in search. Amazon links the ebook and print pages automatically when the title and author name match exactly, 48 hours to a week after each edition is live; otherwise you can link them yourself from your KDP Bookshelf.
- Email your list on launch day and post on your main channel.
- Send early readers the store link, with a thank-you and a reminder that an honest review is welcome but never required.
- Thank everyone who shares the book. Keep a list; they’re the people you’ll ask next time.
The 4 weeks after launch week
- Send a follow-up email with a reader reaction or a behind-the-scenes story.
- Add to your book page: A+ Content (images and text below your Amazon description), which should appear within 8 business days, longer at busy times. If your ebook is on pre-order, you can add it in weeks 6 to 5 instead. A+ Content allows up to 4 review quotes, only from well-known publications or public figures, with the source named.
- Run a planned promotion if you have one, such as a short price drop.
- Pitch a guest post, podcast or talk to reach a new audience.
- Write down what worked: where sales and new subscribers came from. Then plan your next book, which gives new readers a reason to find this one.
Your launch dates, week by week
Launch countdown
Enter your launch date to see each stage of the checklist with real dates. Your answers stay on this page; nothing is saved or sent.
Count back from your launch day: weeks 8 to 7 set the plan, weeks 6 to 5 send early copies and set up your book page, weeks 4 to 3 build interest, weeks 2 to 1 run final checks, then launch week and the four weeks after it. The checklist above lists every task.
Pre-orders: should you use them?
A pre-order lets readers order before launch day, and the book is delivered to them on release. It gives your cover reveal and early emails a link to send people to.
On KDP, pre-orders are for ebooks only. The rule to respect is the deadline: if the final file isn’t in 72 hours before release, KDP cancels the pre-order and tells buyers, and a second missed deadline or cancellation means you can’t create pre-orders on any of your books for 6 months (as of October 2026). Set the pre-order date with a buffer, or skip the pre-order and launch the ebook live. For a paperback, a scheduled release fixes the on-sale date, but readers can’t order it in advance.
A pre-order makes sense when you have people to tell about it, such as a newsletter or an existing readership. With no audience yet, a soft launch is often simpler.
Early readers and reviews
Early reviews help readers decide, so early readers help many launches. Amazon’s rules allow free copies of books, including before release, but you can’t require a review in exchange or try to influence what the reader says. Reviews from people with a personal connection to you, such as family or close friends, aren’t allowed, and nobody may be paid or rewarded for a review.
Invite more early readers than you need, because not everyone finishes in time, and accept that some reviews will be mixed. For ways to find early readers within the rules, see how to get book reviews.
Launching on a budget
You can launch with no paid tools at all; money mainly buys reach and time.
| Budget | What to do |
|---|---|
| No budget | Your newsletter and main channel, early readers you invite yourself, newsletter swaps, local stores and libraries |
| Small budget | Add a reader platform or delivery tool for early copies, one paid promotion in a deals newsletter, and a small ad test once you have some reviews |
| Hand it off | Have someone build the plan and run the setup, while you write the next book |
Common book launch mistakes
- Launching an unedited book. Early reviews point out problems a launch can’t fix.
- No early readers. A book with no reviews in launch week can be harder for new readers to choose.
- A pre-order with no buffer. Missing the 72-hour deadline cancels the pre-order.
- Making a review a condition of a free copy, or asking family or close friends to review. Both break Amazon’s rules.
- Everything on one day. A launch week with nothing after it fades fast; plan the four weeks after launch week too.
- Ads before the basics. Ads send readers to your book page, so the page and description should be ready, and ideally some reviews.
When to get help
If you’d rather focus on writing, we run the launch with you, in your name. Our 8-week launch plan ($749) includes the plan dated back from launch day, your early copies listed with a reader platform, pre-orders set up, newsletter swaps with up to 3 authors in your genre, an application for a BookBub Featured Deal (free or at least 50% off), and 4 strategy calls. Add 5 launch emails written for your subscribers for $349. A launch checklist with an early copy page and 1 strategy call is $299. Reader platform and delivery tool fees are paid by you, and BookBub decides which books it features. We never promise sales, reviews or rankings.
Book marketing
Planning a launch?
We build your 8-week plan, set up early copies and pre-orders, and run the launch with you, with every account in your name.
- Launch checklist $299
- 8-week launch plan $749
- Launch emails +$349
Book launch questions
What is a soft launch?
A soft launch means publishing quietly, without announcing a date. You check the store pages and files, gather early reviews, then do your main promotion a few weeks later. It suits a first book with no audience yet, or a book you want to test before spending on promotion.
Should you launch the ebook and paperback on the same day?
It’s simpler if you can. Set the ebook’s release date and schedule the paperback for the same day, and allow 48 hours to a week after each edition is live for Amazon to link the formats on one page, which happens automatically when the title and author name match exactly. If the paperback isn’t ready, launch the ebook and add print later.
How many early readers do you need?
There’s no set number. Invite more than you need, because some readers won’t finish in time and reviews are never required. Readers who already read your genre are more useful than a long list of people who don’t.
Is it too late to launch a book that’s already out?
No. You can run a relaunch: refresh the cover or description if they need it, invite early readers, and plan a launch week around a price promotion or your next book. A relaunch follows the same checklist, minus the pre-order and scheduled print release.
What if launch week sales are slow?
Launch weeks are often slow, especially for a first book. Check your book page, keep going with the after-launch tasks, and note where your sales and subscribers came from. Your next book gives readers a reason to find this one.
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AuthorWings editorial team
The AuthorWings editorial team writes and updates our guides for first-time authors. Every post is read and edited by a person on our team before it is published.
