Is it too soon to start making marketing strategies for the holidays?

[Tara Woods Turner]

Tis the season to soak up the sun with a good beach read and a cold drink but time flies, as the saying goes. Is it too soon to prep for potential holiday shoppers looking for their next great read? Paperbacks trump ebooks as gifts for obvious reasons so will this affect sales? I'm a newbie so have no experience here so would love your feedback :)

[Nik]

What I hear a lot is that summer is the lowest season for launching and selling books, while the fall is probably the best. I guess it's good to prepare, but how? -:) If you have a new release, it can be good to target it towards later this year. A friend of mine used to order some of my paperbacks as a holiday gift for his friends. Hope as the result the recipients haven't become a little less friendly -:)
BTW, in the context of parenting lit, my another friend's wife is also a co-author of a book for first-time parents. I remember she was pretty successful in promoting her books as holiday gifts to state and municipal employees, and I brought on her request two boxes full of books to my own municipality at the time -:)

[Tara Woods Turner]

Nice! I wonder how I can translate your friend's strategy to parents here in NYC...

[Nik]

Well, I met a NYC city council member from Brooklyn a year or two ago, but I'm not close enough to hook you up and I hope knowing someone is not a necessary precondition -:).
It can be an idea to explore though...