What to Do When: A Book Marketing
and Production Timeline

By Brian Jud

Did you ever watch experienced workers build a house? They create and consult their blueprints to direct the sequence and timing of events, beginning with the foundation. Without a plan, the process would take longer than necessary, cost more than anticipated, and require duplication of effort to correct mistakes and oversights. There is a direct analogy to the book publishing process. Failure to plan and perform certain actions in the proper sequence and at the right time could cost you time, money and wasted effort.

Do not think of the word plan as a noun -- i.e., a document. Instead, think of it as a verb, a technique to help you organize and direct your thinking and your actions.

The process of planning begins by asking -- and answering -- questions that stimulate your strategic thinking. What form will the final product take? When will it be published? At what price will it be sold? How will it be distributed? How can we use publicity, advertising, sales promotion, your website and personal selling techniques to promote it through various outlets and mediums? What will all this cost and how much money can we expect to make? How will all this position us for future growth?

What follows is an example of a book-production and marketing timeline you can use to make planning a creative process that guides your actions as you launch a title. As you follow the steps in order, you will be establishing a foundation on which you can methodically build momentum so that your title is released on time, on budget and with legs.

As you’ll see, the steps are organized in seven phases. The first two phases -- performed six to twelve months before pub date -- are devoted to research and strategic planning. The next three have to do with production, distribution and promotion. Phase Six focuses on publication date, and the final phase entails evaluating your efforts and making any necessary changes in strategy or implementation.

Phase 1:
Research – at least 52 weeks before pub date.

Ask and answer the questions below.

Market Planning

Is the industry the book relates to in a growth stage with demand, sales and profits increasing?

Is there diverse market attraction with appeal to a sizable market? Or, will demand in a niche be significant enough to make the venture profitable? Is there a specific period or date with which pub date should coincide?

Target Market Planning

Who are the potential customers for the book?

How many people are in the target market? Where are they located? What are their buying habits?

Are there seasonal variations in the target market?

Are potential customers easy to reach because they’re geographically or demographically concentrated?

Does the book’s content fill a market need?

Author’s Strengths

Is the author a recognized authority on book’s topic or otherwise possessed of credentials that will matter to the targeted readers?

Will the author be involved in and effective at promotion?

The Competition

Does the book have a unique point of difference when compared to similar titles?

Is it priced competitively?

Does a large competitor dominate the market?

Phase 2:
Strategy -- 26 weeks before pub date

When you have content with a competitive point of difference written by a qualified, promotion-savvy author for people in a specific target market who have demonstrated a need for that content, what’s next?

Ask and answer questions to define the strategies that will guide your production efforts, distribution channels, pricing policies and promotional tools.

Product Strategies

How many pages should the book have? What size should it be? What type of binding should it have? Will it have illustrations or half tones?

Can the book be produced at a marketable cost?

Can it be produced in an appropriate span of time?

Is it suitable for rights sales (foreign, serial, movie and more)?

What checks are in place to ensure that the book will be produced to high quality standards?

Does the manuscript have a good, tested title?

Distribution Strategies

Will the book be distributed through the traditional distributor Þ wholesaler Þ retailer channels?

What special markets -- associations, corporations, book clubs, schools and so on -- are suited to the title?

Do existing distribution channels provide suitable access to the book’s markets?

Promotion Strategies

Is the title saleable to your company’s present customers?

Will it get adequate marketing support throughout its expected life cycle?

What strategy will work for marketing it via the Internet?

Financial Strategies

Is the price of your book appropriate in terms of the value its content brings to targeted readers?

Does it have a low breakeven point?

Is the initial print run based on a reasonable forecast?

Will the launch be adequately financed?

Phase 3:
Production -- 4 - 6 months before pub date

This is the time to finish all rewrites, editing and indexing; complete the front and back cover designs and the internal layout, assign an ISBN and otherwise comply with all technical requirements for doing business in the book industry.

Action StepsWeeks before Pub Date

Register your copyright 20

Finalize the book’s title 20

Seek endorsements 20

Send request for quotation (RFQ) to printers 18

Edit the manuscript 16

Process any illustrations 16

Produce cover art mockup for sales force 16

Lay pages out 16

Submit Advance Book Information (ABI) to Bowker for Books in Print 16

Assign ISBN 12

Complete CIP data 12

Write back-cover copy 12

Create bound galleys 12

Phase 4:
Promotion -- 3 - 4 months before pub date

List the general promotion strategies you intend to implement. Think in terms of the five parts of the promotion mix: publicity, advertising, sales promotion, your website and personal selling.

Action Steps Weeks before Pub Date

Construct or update your Web site - 18 Weeks

Contact relevant book clubs and catalogs - 16

Choose trade shows at which to exhibit - 16

Contact magazines about serial rights - 16

Develop a list of appropriate media and reviewers - 14

Write editorial fact sheet, and trade-catalog copy - 14

Create your hook; write press release and/or create press kit - 14

(photo, author bio, sell sheet, sample questions, reviews, articles) - 14

Send bound galleys to reviewers - 12

Prepare and place prepublication announcement ads - 12

Prepare and send direct mail packages - 8

Produce sales-promotional items - 8

Provide media training for author - 8

Contact TV and radio shows and send press kit to interested shows - 8

Follow up with media by phone or email - 8

Plan author tours, events, signings - 8

Send final changes to printer - 8

Contact newspapers and Web sites about running excerpts - 8

Phase 5:
Distribution -- 2 - 3 months before pub date

Research and contact relevant wholesalers and distributors, remembering that you may need to use different channels for libraries, bookstores and special markets.

Action Steps Weeks before Pub Date

Create the marketing plan summary that you will include with each:

Submission to potential distribution partners. 16 weeks

Contact wholesalers and distributors for traditional and special channels - 12

(trade bookstores, airport stores, libraries, supermarkets, drugstores and so on) - 12

Phase 5:
Launch – the month leading up to pub date

The final month before publication is devoted to following up and catching up. Coordinate with your printer, media, distribution partners, buyers and reviewers to prepare for the launch. Catch up by doing all the miscellaneous tasks that are required to meet your ultimate deadlines.

When your book is finally released, the real work of building and sustaining its momentum begins.

Phase 6:
Evaluation – the life of the book

Too often, publishers view a marketing plan as a set of tasks that they need to complete. But change in a book’s environment may necessitate changes in marketing moves and so may changes that result from your marketing activity. Evaluate all your actions to determine (1) if they were successful, and (2) if not, why not. Then make whatever changes are required to increase their effectiveness.

Planning is a process, not a document. To enhance a book’s chances for success, create and use this process, performing your actions sequentially and synergistically, from way before publication until way after.

Brian Jud hosts Book Central Station where you can find rated lists of suppliers to help you write, publish and market books, and also post your own reviews and add your favorite suppliers.

For a free trial of Book Central Station, go to http://www.bookmarketingworks.com/judslist/trial.asp  

Email BrianJud@bookmarketing.com if you would like a free checklist (in Excel) that will automatically calculate the dates in his marketing and production timeline for any given book. For more information: P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT  06001; (800) 562-4357; http://www.bookmarketing.com.