What is the formula for a super successful book launch? It’s the Big Book Season in publishing, when some of the biggest authors and most hyped books are released, in anticipation of Christmas.
Some of these will fly straight onto the bestseller lists, while others will not do as well as their publisher hopes.
I started writing this post with the intention of saying that there’s no such thing as a magic formula, but thinking about it, maybe there is. Looking back on some of the big books I’ve worked on, the ones I’ve seen award submissions for, and others I’ve researched, they tick most of the same boxes.
(Please note, this is obviously not a completely comprehensive list!)
Super strong package - cover / tagline / blurb all enticing and make you want to pick it up.
Brilliant and copious early reviews from wide range of relevant comp authors and readers.
Bricks and mortar bookshops on board with Waterstones and indie booksellers handselling it before it’s even out. Maybe some supermarkets.
Ideally a ‘Big Marketing Idea’ - an installation or experiential thing that gets coverage in the book trade press and which can be shared online.
Large, engaged audience.
Book that perfectly matches what they want to buy.
Clear messaging.
A host of influencers excited to share it.
Great word-of-mouth, meaning sales carry on past week 1 or 2 after release.
Large partnerships lined up.
Rights deals left, right and centre.
Digital ads delivering great results, starting from well before publication.
Price promotion soon after (or on) release, with a Bookbub booked in.
Strong publicity coverage (podcasts, TV, mainstream press, large online outfits).
A large genre book subscription box on board.
Maybe throw in some kind of stunt, which generates some coverage or social media.
Not every book is going to have all (or any) of those - just because you can’t tick every box doesn’t mean your book isn’t going to do well. But you can still apply some of these things to your book launch.
Some of the lessons I would pull out:
Have a plan! Yes, there is room for serendipity in some of these mega campaigns, but really: there is a huge amount of planning and logistics and grunt work involved, and there’s really no way around it. The end result might look effortless from the outside, but marketing is generally very effortful. Having a plan you can work your way through will give you clarity and help you stay on the right track.
Build your audience and understand how your book will connect with them.
Make sure your book matches your reader’s expectations.
Experiment with different ways to put your message in front of them.
Find what feels good.
Keep encouraging reader reviews.
Do what you can with the retailers taking the book (often this might be just Amazon - make yours the best damn Amazon page out there).
Work with ‘influencers’ within and outside of the book world (I’ve put that in quotes because an influencer can be anyone with a relevant audience - it doesn’t need to be someone getting free trips to Dubai, which is what that word conjurs up for me!).
Look at running price promotions and support those with advertising of some kind.
Evaluate what you’re doing and adjust course as needed.
Look out for PR oppportunities (if you’re not already in
’s Substack community, and want to do more with PR, sign up)Keep going! The main outcome of any ‘Big Book’ publishing meeting is always ‘What else can we do?’. Book doing brilliantly? What else can we do? Book not doing well? What else can we do? Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment.
Keep writing your next book. Build on any successes you had this time around and learn from your failures.
Do you agree? Disagree? Is there anything you would add to the list?
PS: Paid subscribers now get weekly office hours to ask me anything about their marketing! If you’d like me to have a look at your marketing plan and let you know what I think, upgrade now and I’ll be happy to help.