Is there a best time of the year to release a book?

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I Wrote A Book, So Now What?

A big part of the life of an author is based on thinking, writing, deleting, and repeating. Writers spend months, sometimes years, to finish a book. But once they finish it, what is the next step?

Well, you would say “Publishing it!” And you would be absolutely right.

The end of the writing process is usually followed by the launch of the book. Both are strongly connected. If you finish the book, you can publish it. You will publish the book when you finish. You get the gist… But what many people do not consider is that there are marketing strategies that go behind the launch of a book.

Everything Has a Date

Have you ever thought about how certain industries choose specific timeframes in the year to release a type of content? In the movie industry, for example, we see a lot of Halloween movies released in September and October. The same with Christmas, there are a lot of Christmas movies coming out in November and December. However, other seasons are harder to spot.

Have you noticed that high-concept blockbusters are usually set closer to summer and that Oscar movies start around November?

In the same way, the book industry functions a little bit based on a calendar. The weather, holidays, the genre of the book, your target audience, and more.

There is no exact science. No formula will dictate the right date to launch your book, but there are for sure some things you should consider. It is not set in stone, so what works for you probably will not work for the next author.

Some Seasons Are Just Better

Yes, peak reading and buying seasons are indeed related to the weather. January, February, and March are usually good months to release books because people tend to stay more at home, so they look for more indoor activities, such as reading.

On the other hand, a lot of people get a longer break or more free time during summer, so it makes sense to release a book in March, April, or May and hope it will catch on during summer. This is especially true for some genres, such as romance.

On a side note, November and December are good months to release books because a lot of people are looking for Black Friday Deals or Christmas presents. There is a lot of gift-giving involved and books can be a great idea since there are so many options to choose from.

It is true that we see a big increase in book sales between December and February, but summer is the top-selling season in the book industry.

Rough Calendar

Publishing companies have a rough draft for when books should be released based on their genre. In self-publishing, the calendar is more flexible, but you can use this in addition to your planning and research to decide when you want to publish your book.

If you think about it, some of these make sense. Traveling books for summer months because people usually travel more during summer, horror or paranormal books around Halloween because some people like to get a little spooky, and so on…

January to April:

Design

Cooking

Self-help

Romance

Business

May to August:

Fantasy

Adventure

Travel

September to November:

Horror

Paranormal

Academic

December and January:

Illustrated

Children

Cookery

Quiz/Novelty

Quirky/Fun

What You Shouldn’t Do

Some genres are harder to predict. The truth is: there is no time like the present. The holiday season may give you a sense of security when releasing a book but the truth is that there are so many other factors that impact your book launch that you should not base your release date solely on this.

You will have to build a solid marketing plan, and count on your strategies and fans to help promote your book and get more sales. If your book is ready to go, and you feel confident about it, do not wait to publish your book because one season is perceived to be “better” than the next.

Even though there is not a solid “best” time to release a book, there is certainly the “worst,” and that is when you are not ready to release the book. If you are not ready or if you feel it is a hard time to market for your specific audience, wait a little. It is best to wait and launch the book when you are sure it is your best work and effort than to launch in a rush just for the sake of launching.

Extra Resources

There are many resources throughout the Internet that can guide you throughout planning. The first one is a calendar for timing your book’s launch date for maximum impact by Alan Rinzler, a traditional publishing expert.

You should also take advantage of holidays and seasonal events, so Calendar Zone and Rowan & Littlefield will be good places to start. They have lists of resources, websites, and holidays that can tie back to your book promotion.

No matter what you do, think outside the box! Do not base yourself only on the most famous holidays, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. If you are writing a religious book, think about Easter. If you are writing books for children, think about the back-to-school season. If you are writing self-help, motivational books, think about the beginning of the year (this is when people usually take the time to think about themselves and their goals). If you are writing about gardening, spring is your time to shine!

There are unlimited ways to explore these events and holidays, you just have to think about how to tie them back to your book!