Launching your book – a checklist

There’s a lot to think about when launching a self-published book. To help you make sure you’ve got everything covered, here’s a checklist of some of the most important things you need to think about. Feel free to add your own ideas and suggestions in the comments.

Is the book launch-ready? This doesn’t just mean having a compelling, well-written book. It also means making sure it’s been properly proof-read, formatted and designed before you launch it.
Sort out a marketing plan. Promotion can be time-consuming at the best of times, but if you’re launching straight into it without any clear idea of how you’re going to do it, it’ll fast become complicated. The points below should give you some idea of the kind of things to include in a marketing plan.
Figure out your pricing. Will your book be free or have a price tag attached to it? If the former, how long will it be free for? If the latter, how much are you going to charge? How will your decision affect your marketing?
Make sure your book is as available as it can be. Remember it’s unlikely you’ll be launching it in just one place – there are multiple platforms and retail options to utilise.
Sort out a press release announcing the launch.
Consider giving away some preview copies of your book so you’ll have some reviews ready for the main launch.
Think about the giveaways you might like to run.
What local events could you run? Are there any local bookshops or reading groups that you could use to help launch the book?
Don’t forget to consider both online and off-line launch strategies.
Update your website to include the upcoming launch and, after the launch, update it again to reflect the book’s release.
Write some blog posts about the launch.
Try and get a guest spot on other blogs to help promote your book in the days/weeks before and after its launch.
Have you created your Amazon author page and/or updated it to include details of your latest release?
Get in touch with friends and family and ask them to help promote your book (and remind them to buy it).
Think about creating a book trailer to launch alongside the book itself.
Don’t forget to update your ‘to do’ list regularly so you’re always on top of your launch activities.