Do Authors Need A 12-Month Marketing Plan?

 

 

In life, time can be your enemy or an ally, depending on whether you squander your opportunities or take advantage of them. This is certainly true when it comes to marketing your book.

The number one thing authors can do to undermine any potential success for their book is to ignore the significance of their book’s release date on Amazon and other retail platforms. 

Why?

Because everything is based on it.  

Depending on what your launch date is — or was — will dictate whether:

* You can win a book award
* Your book can garner a book review.
* You shall be invited to speak at an event or conference.
* A bookstore will shelf your book.
* Your web site needs to be launched or revised.
* Your blog, podcast, newsletter, or social media need to be launched or altered.

Some of the marketing surrounding a book’s publication date involves perception — is it new or old? Much of it involves policies, some of which are stated clearly. Authors find out the hard way that a publication date becomes like a sell-by date for a bag of ridged barbecue potato chips (oh, yum).

For instance, to have a chance at getting a book review in a book trade journal like Publishers Weekly or a major daily newspaper book review section like The New York Times, you must, must send an advance review copy to the correct editor about four months before your scheduled release date. Anything beyond that, with few extraordinary exceptions, gets tossed into the garbage without a word getting read.

Book awards also have deadlines as to when your book is eligible for qualifying. Each one has a small window of time as to when you can submit your book for consideration. If you miss the deadlines, your book will not be considered — no matter how good it is.

Every aspect of your book marketing needs a plan — with scheduled dates of specific activity. If you plan to any of these things, timing matters: 

* Crafting a web site

* Scheduling speaking events

* Creating a blog, podcast, or newsletter

* Getting book testimonials

* Advertising on Amazon, Google, or Facebook

* Submitting for book awards

* Creating social media posts 

* Securing a book marketer or promoter

* Participating in book festivals, fairs, and conferences

* Seeking out book reviews 

The take-away here is clear: plan ahead and be prepared to honor deadlines or suffer the consequences of ignoring them.

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 11 million page views. With over 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum