GENERAL PROMOTION CALENDAR
for consumer Coverage

Before you decide to publish a book

When you have a fully edited manuscript and are about to have it designed and typeset

When you have a firm date when the book will be off-press and in the stores

When you have bound galleys

While your book is at the printer

When you have finished books

Three months after publication

Before you decide to publish a book

• Decide who is most likely to buy your book. Honestly consider if there are enough of them so that selling 1% would make your book successful.
• Determine where these people are most likely to read or hear about your book. This will be the target of all your promotional efforts.
• Determine if there is a specific time of year when your book would get more attention. Carefully review the time it takes to get the book into the stores and get fully promoted for optimum effect. Remember, the national magazines are finalizing their Christmas issues in July and August, and the summer travel issues are being put together in January and February. Daily and weekly media, of course, work on a more immediate time frame.
• Map out all promotion plans and determine dates when material is needed. If not, consider consulting a professional publicist. A publicist can handle some or all aspects of the publicity, working with you to make sure you get maxim coverage. Top

When you have a fully edited manuscript
and are about to have it designed and typeset

• Decide if advance comments and reviews will help sales. If the answer is yes, then decide which experts or well-known writers would be most appropriate and determine if you can reach them. Allow two to three months from the time you have bound galleys to send to the experts to the time catalog and/or cover copy needs to be written. Top

When you have a firm date when the
book will be off-press and in the stores

• Send information in correct form for the appropriate announcement issues of Publisher's Weekly Forward, Independent Publisher, and other trade publications. Books being published between February and June are listed in "Spring" announcement issues; information for these issues generally has to be sent in early November. Books being published between June and January are listed in "Fall" announcement issues. Information for these generally has to be sent to the magazines in April. Top

When you have bound galleys
(approximately 12 weeks prior to publication)

• Send galleys to experts for advance comments if not previously done. See above.
• Do appropriate book club queries.  (They will even review edited manuscript if it is a book they are strongly interested in considering.)
• Do major magazine queries. Remember, national magazines work four to six months or more in advance. They will often not even look at a book once it is available in the stores!
• Send galleys to appropriate trade and other review media that require copies twelve to sixteen weeks prior to publication date. Top

While your book is at the printer

• Review overall promotion plans.
• Write your general press release and any supplemental releases that may be effective (e.g. "Did You Know," recipes, "Praise For" recap of quotes of a previous book, author bio, etc.)
• Select appropriate media to receive releases, press kits, and/or review copies. Prepare labels or buy appropriate media lists from a list broker.
• Plan where and when you want to try for radio and television interviews. If using an ad in a published forum, determine when your ad must be submitted to appear in the appropriate issue. Top

When you have finished books

• Send out press releases to appropriate media.
• Send out review copies to appropriate media.
• Plan select follow-up calls two weeks after material has been sent.
• Begin trying to schedule radio, tv, and newspaper interviews.
• Arrange autographings/events at bookstores.
• Arrange talks before appropriate groups. Top

Three months after publication

• Review coverage to date. If it has been strong, consider the next level of promotion to build on the momentum. If has been weak, try to determine the cause. Is it due to the book itself? the topic? the approach you have been using? Do you need the help of a professional publicist? Top