Thursday, December 12, 2013

The 2014 Book Publishing Timeline


The calendar dictates when many books get published or even if they are greenlighted at all.  Below are some key times in the seasonality of book publishing.  This will give you an idea of how the book marketplace works.

Things to consider:

Which holidays, annual events, honorary weeks/months or seasonal patterns are worth basing one’s publication date upon?  Should books about love or sex be released just in time for Valentine’s Day?  Should books about the football season come out in August or March?  Should Chinese food cookbooks come out in February for the Chinese New Year or in November for holiday gift-giving season?

January
People need books to help them live out their New Year’s Resolutions of losing weight, making money, and living a balanced life.  Diet and health books, self-help titles, and personal finance/investing/business books flood the stores as soon as a new year descends.

February:
Valentine’s Day, Spring Training, Black History Month, and President’s Day leave us with books on love, dating, romance, sex, relationships, marriage, baseball, presidents, and tax preparation.

March
Spring cleaning, gardening, travel books, Easter/Passover, and books on humor (for April Fools’ Day), are popular at this time. This is also Women's Awareness Month.

April
Think ahead for Mother’s Day and graduations with gift books such as photography, cookbooks, career guides, and books about mothers and daughters. This is also Financial Literacy Month and National Autism Awareness Month.

May
With Father’s Day coming up, books for guys are hot.  It’s BBQ season and the weather’s warmed up for cruises, outdoor sports, bird-watching, vacations, and all things war (Memorial Day).

June/July
Beach reads and escapist novels are populating shelves.  Books about patriotism, freedoms and rights, historical figures, and political policy are perfect with Independence Day approaching.  Travel guides and adventure-seeking books are in demand.

August
Books related to Labor Day, back-to-school, football season and 9/11 flourish.

September/October
Some of the year’s biggest books come out during this time, including books by celebrities.  No major holidays, vacations, or distractions interfere with the book-buying frenzy this time of the year.

November/December
Books about the holidays, inspirational titles, and coffee table books are in demand.  Gift books like cookbooks, photography, almanacs or yearly round-up books are popular.

Publishers don’t need excuses or reasons to publish and release a book, but because of the patterns dictated by calendar dates, (which impact consumers, the news media, and how businesses operate) book publishing schedules become somewhat predictable.  If you want to break the cycle, create your own trend, holiday, or special event—and publish a book based on it.


DON’T MISS THIS!!!

Here is my 2014 Book Marketing & Publicity Toolkit: Based on 20+ years in publishing --

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013

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