Your launch isn’t a marketing plan, it’s a project
So many indie authors treat their book launch like a giant marketing sprint. They make a graphics folder, schedule all of their posts, send some emails, and hope they've covered everything (this is an exaggeration, but you get my point).
Then their release day approaches and suddenly they're answering ARC emails, fixing retailer links, updating their website, coordinating influencers, checking preorder numbers, and trying to remember whether they ever scheduled that newsletter.
The problem isn't that they didn't market enough. The problem is that they treated a project like a marketing campaign. Marketing is one piece of a successful launch. Project management is what keeps all the pieces moving together.
The Difference Between Marketing and Project Management
A book launch has several moving parts and marketing is one of the many departments. Project management is the system that holds all of the departments together.
You’ve got:
And likely even more! None of these exist independently. They all affect one another.
Think Like a Project Manager
A successful launch hinges on answering four questions:
What needs to happen?
When does it happen?
Who owns the task?
What happens if something changes?
This is where you build your master task list. Relying on your memory is a recipe for last minute scrambling. Write down every launch task you need to execute on. I’m the queen of “no task is too small to go on the task list” tasks. The task is not simply “Make newsletter 1”. It is to:
Draft newsletter 1
Review newsletter 1
Make graphics for newsletter 1
Schedule newsletter 1
Confirm newsletter 1 has sent
(Plus then you get to check 5 tasks off the list instead of 1, and that always feels way better)
You want to create a repeatable process that you can follow and fine-tune with each release. From your brain dump, you can work backward from launch day to assign due dates, identify milestones, and create your ultimate launch timeline. BUT be mindful of dependencies within your timeline.
If you want ARCs to go live 3 weeks before release day and you want at least 3 months of time for people to sign up for ARCs BUT you don’t want to start ARC sign ups until you’ve revealed your cover, then your cover reveal needs to happen at least 16-18 weeks before release day. Knowing this should help you schedule your cover designer with confidence AND understand what impacts will be felt if something gets delayed.
All of this is to say that you are setting up a system that takes away the questions. It establishes priorities for you so you don’t have to rely on your own motivation. Everyone loves the fun parts. Who wouldn’t want to make fun cover reveal graphics, engage with their readers, and set up ARC campaigns? But someone also has to make the A+ content for Amazon.
Creating a systematic but flexible launch timeline will give you the peace of mind that let’s you execute instead of react. And yes, a HUGE part of this is marketing. I’d be remiss if I said otherwise. But without proper project management, a massive portion of your business will be left unattended.
What happens if you don’t manage the project?
The launch will likely still happen. But instead of executing on your plan, you are likely in a state of constantly putting out fires, rebuilding your to-do list daily, missing deadlines, forgetting important tasks, sending last minute emails. It’s a lot like working in the launch instead of working on the launch.
A project-managed launch looks a lot different. It has a clear timeline, an organized task list, defined priorities, a communication plan, repeatable workflows, fewer surprises, and a space to actually enjoy your release. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. I would never promise something so unrealistic. But it is doable.
Great launches don't happen because someone remembered to post on Instagram every day. They are a months-long project with dozens of moving pieces. And the best part is, the systems you create become guideposts for your next book. Treat this release like a project and every launch becomes more organized, less stressful, and easier to repeat.
So here’s what you’re going to do today to help set yourself up for success:
Brain Dump: list every task for your launch. If you’ve been through this rodeo before, then write down everything you did do and things you wanted to do but didn’t. This is your time to micro-task the shit out of your list. If you want to make a task for making the task list, you should put that here. (P.s. then all of my besties who like crossing things off the list will get immediate gratification because look at that, you made the list AND you have something to cross off already). There doesn’t need to be any order at this stage, just think through everything and write it down.
Side note: would anyone want my version of this list? Let me know!
Build a Timeline: Now is when you start to think about when things need to be done. You can start taking the red string and connecting all of the dependencies so it all starts to come together. We know our release date, so we should be able to figure out everything else. (This is honestly how I envision myself when I am creating this list):
Create a Reusable Checklist: Now you can put together your checklists for each month leading up to release day. If something can be done early, then by all means get it done early. I like to take this step a tad bit farther and I schedule everything out on airtable and set up reminder emails with each week’s tasks. I get 3 emails a week with what needs done and 1 email with what’s coming next week. Is this extra? Maybe but let me tell you, it does wonders for my productivity.
Once you’ve done your homework, I hope you will start to feel even more empowered for your release. Yes, we are marketing the book, but that’s not everything. Marketing helps readers discover your book. Project management is what makes the launch itself successful.
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Dragon of the Ashes by K. Jamila
Solis Falling by T.A. Reilly
Quicksilver by Callie Hart (rereading so I can read book 2!)
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Since this is my first one, I feel like I have lots of options, but I’ll go with how much I’m learning about KDP. Pretty much every author I’ve worked with is in the Kindle Unlimited program, so I have started to dig into the terms and conditions everyone agrees to when they sign up!
For example, did you know that while you did agree to an exclusivity period if you are in KU, you can still do 5 FREE promotions every 90 days? This can be super helpful if you want to use free ebooks as an incentive!
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I don’t know if anyone will care, necessarily, but I thought I could share a little bit about my life here. Nothing crazy, but just little fun tid bits to get to know me better!
This month, I figured I would keep it brief with a bit of an introduction. Hi, I’m Maribeth. You may know me already, but I work as an author service provider part time, and a business attorney full time. I am married to my husband of almost 6 years now, Scott (he’s a reader too, so if you follow my bookstagram, you’ve probably seen him!).
We also have an amazing, wild, crazy 1-year old named Henry and two amazing dogs, Ronald and Ginny!
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A 15 minute task that will improve your business.
Today, or sometime this month, I want you to take 15-20 minutes to organize your Canva.
I know, it sounds extremely overwhelming, but it will be so worth it. The task is simple:
Make folders relevant to you. You might want to have overarching folders for each series if you have multiple and 1 for general business. Then make sub-folders for things like social graphics, listing graphics, newsletters, etc.
Then, start sorting. This part might take longer than 15 minutes BUT you can get a lot done. Happy sorting!
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Talk to you next month!
