A launch week plan for indie authors

A book launch isn’t a single day. It’s a few weeks of preparation, a concentrated week of attention, and a follow-through that many authors underestimate. Planning the week in advance means that on release day you’re telling people about the book instead of fixing a broken link.

This plan assumes a self-published book on Amazon with an ebook, a paperback, or both. Adjust the timing to fit your situation.

Pick one main goal

A launch week can’t do everything at once, so choose what matters most for this book:

• Reviews, if the book has none and needs social proof
• Visibility in your categories, if you want the book to appear on category lists
• Newsletter growth, if this book is the first in a series and the long term matters more than the first week
• Read-through, if earlier books in the series should benefit from the new one

The goal decides what you measure and where you spend effort. A launch built around reviews puts the ARC team at the center; a launch built around newsletter growth puts the sign-up link in every post.

Decide on launch pricing

Some authors launch at a discount to encourage early purchases, then raise the price. Others launch at full price and save discounts for later promotions. Either can work. What matters is deciding in advance, telling your list what to expect, and making price changes several days before you need them to take effect, because they don’t appear instantly.

Four to six weeks before launch

Get the fixed pieces done early, so launch week is for talking to readers:

• Files final. The manuscript is proofread, and the ebook and print files are approved. If you’re running an ebook pre-order on KDP, the final file has to be uploaded before KDP’s deadline, which was 72 hours before release at the time of writing. Missing it has consequences for future pre-orders, so check the current rules and don’t cut it close.
• Listing complete. The description, keywords, categories, and author name match across formats. Check your keyword slots and categories one more time.
• Prices set. The launch price and the price that follows are decided for every marketplace you sell in. Pricing an ebook on KDP covers how each choice affects your royalty.
• ARC readers reading. Advance copies should be with your ARC team; ARC readers covers how to ask for reviews within the rules.
• Email list warmed up. If you haven’t emailed your list in months, send something before launch week so the announcement isn’t a surprise.
• Assets ready. Cover images, a 3D mockup, a few short excerpts, and social graphics sized for the platforms you use.
• Author profile updated on Amazon and on your website, with the new book listed.
• Back matter checked. Links in the ebook point to the right places, including your newsletter sign-up.

Write the plan down

Put the whole week on one page: each day’s emails, posts, and checks, with the links you’ll use. Draft the emails and posts in advance and schedule what you can. On launch day, the plan is your checklist, and you won’t be writing a newsletter at midnight while answering messages.

Launch week, day by day

Release day

• Check each format’s product page in your main marketplaces. Confirm the price, the description, and that the formats are linked on the same page.
• Click every link you plan to share.
• Send the launch email to your list: what the book is, why you wrote it, and one link.
• Email your ARC readers with direct links to the review pages, keeping the request optional.
• Post on your social channels, and pin the post.

Day 2

• Thank readers publicly for the first-day response, without pressuring anyone to buy or review.
• Share a behind-the-scenes post: the real place behind the setting, an early draft page, or the story of the cover design.
• If the ebook and paperback still aren’t linked on Amazon, contact KDP support.

Day 3

• Reply to readers’ emails and messages.
• Confirm or pitch any interviews, guest posts, or podcast appearances.
• Check how your listing and the reading sample look on a phone.

Day 4

• Run any planned paid promotions or newsletter features.
• Post an excerpt, such as a short scene or a striking passage, with the buy link.

Day 5

• Send a short follow-up to subscribers who didn’t open the launch email, with a different subject line. Send it once, not repeatedly.
• Share early reader reactions only with the reader’s permission, quoted exactly as they wrote them.

Days 6 and 7

• Review what happened: sales in KDP’s reports, which posts and emails got responses, and any problems readers mentioned.
• If you’re running ads, review the first week’s results before changing anything.
• Write down what you’d do differently next time, while it’s fresh.

Work with other people

A launch reaches further when it isn’t only your voice. Ask authors in your genre whether they’d mention the book in their newsletters, and offer the same for theirs. Contact local bookstores and libraries if you have a paperback and a local connection. Pitch podcasts and blogs that cover your genre or your book’s subject, well before launch week, since many schedule weeks ahead.

What not to do

• Don’t ask family and close friends to review. Amazon may remove those reviews.
• Don’t buy reviews or offer rewards for them.
• Don’t change everything at once. If you change the price, cover, description, and ads in the same week, you won’t know what made the difference.
• Don’t spam. One clear announcement per channel, plus genuine follow-ups, works better than a stream of “buy my book” posts.
• Don’t panic about early numbers. Launch week is one data point. Many books find their readers over months, especially in a series.

If something goes wrong

Launch week problems are usually small and fixable:

• A typo or formatting error: fix the file and upload it again. Readers who already bought the ebook may not receive the update automatically, so fix it early.
• A wrong price in one marketplace: correct it in KDP, and remember that price changes can take time to appear.
• A broken link: fix it everywhere you posted it, starting with the launch email’s web version if your email service allows edits.
• Formats not linked: contact KDP support with both identifiers.

After launch week

• Send a thank-you to your list, with a note about what’s coming next
• Collect lessons for the next launch while you still remember them
• Plan the next touchpoint: a promotion, a related short story, or news about the next book
• Keep writing. A new book gives every earlier book a fresh reason to be noticed.

Launch week checklist

• Files approved, and the pre-order deadline met
• Listing, price, keywords, and categories final
• ARC readers have the book and know the timeline
• Launch email drafted and scheduled
• Social posts and graphics prepared
• Every link tested
• A day-by-day plan written down
• A notes file for lessons learned

AIBookWriter’s free Social Media Post Generator drafts platform-shaped posts for launch week from your title, description, and buy link, and its Author Email Sequence generator includes a book launch sequence. Draft both before launch week, so the week itself is for talking to readers.