Strategic timing of a book’s publication date can give it a boost and have a major impact on its long-term success. Commercial publishers and booksellers have known this forever.
Are certain days, months, or dates better than others?
Well, it depends on the book.
January – March
The first quarter of the year is the perfect time of year for business, self-improvement, health, and writing craft books, as people are eager to stick to their New Year’s resolutions.
Genre fiction also does well in the first quarter. For many of us, the first quarter means terrible weather (I’m in New England). We’re looking for new books to pass the time while stuck indoors. Also, many readers received new tablets, e-readers, or gift cards for gifts. Shiny, new books become irresistible.
Peak reading and buying season are very much tied to the weather. February and March are generally good times to release a novel because the weather’s not great. Snow and ice forces readers to browse the web for their next adventure.
The exception is children’s books. If you’re a children’s book author, wait for the second quarter of the year. Kids received books during the holidays and parents feel they’ve spent enough already. Also, they’re back in school, which leaves less time for pleasure reading.
April – June
The second quarter is another perfect time to release genre fiction, as people are going on vacation and finally getting to that book they’ve been dying to read all year. It makes sense to release a genre novel in the spring, so momentum can carry over into the summer.
What about children’s books? Easter is the second busiest time of year for kids and gifts. Parents are looking for various things to occupy their kids’ time. Books offer a great way to keep kids learning and occupied. Activity books for kids also do well during this time.
July – September
In the third quarter, business books and self-help books become popular again. Releasing virtually any book ahead of the holiday season is a smart idea. August isn’t ideal for two reasons. First, readers are often away, and things are quiet. Vacationers have already purchased their beach reads. Second, media outlets are slower to respond in August, if you’d hoped to advertise or score a review.
October – December
October is a terrific month for horror, thrillers, and mysteries—these genres dominate the marketplace, the darker the better. A cozy mystery or HEA romance may not do well in October. Historical fiction, depending on the subject matter, or dark romance might be all right. Really think about your genre and when you tend to buy books. It will help you understand the best time of year to release your book.
If you wait until the latter half of November, you might be too late unless you’re targeting a niche market.
December is the worst month of the year for new books. Even if you’re releasing a Christmas-related title, you’re better off planning for Christmas in July (and use the hashtag!).
If this logic doesn’t make sense to you, consider this: When do stores change their seasonal displays? They don’t wait till December, do they? Nor should we. Even if you write a series with eager fans, try to hold off till after the new year. Your readers are too busy with the bustling holiday season to read and review a new release.
Niche Markets
Whenever possible, try to find a niche for your new book baby. Consider the themes, locations, and plot of your book. Character flaws, race, worldviews, etc. can also fall into niche markets. Is there an element of your book that you can tie to a holiday or commonly known date? Think: Romance novels releasing near Valentine’s Day.
Dig deeper than the holidays. What if the protagonist is a 9/11 survivor? Or the heroine lost her life partner in the bombing? A September release makes sense, right? If your MC is a new bride, release during peak wedding season and show the connection in your marketing.
I found this calendar on Self-Publishing Review to help spark new ideas for you.
Does the Day of the Week Matter?
Big 5 publishers release on Tuesdays. Since major bestsellers are compiled on Tuesdays, some say a Tuesday release gives the title a full week to gain traction before the weekend. Readers and booksellers look forward to Tuesdays because of the hot-off-the-press releases. Why not take advantage of the buzz?
That’s up to you, of course, but let’s look at why the beginning of the week—Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday—tends to work better than the end.
In addition to the Big 5 releasing on Tuesdays, movies come out on DVD on that day as well. So, it’s a well-accepted day to release new material into the hands of eager readers. That said, many indie authors agree that Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are all beneficial. While Tuesday may be more traditional, we don’t need to stick to tradition, do we? The beginning of the week works best because of the way Amazon records weekly sales. If you’re shooting for a bestseller category, you’ll want time to garner sales before the weekend.
The same holds true for monthly sales.
Releases in the first two weeks of the month gain better momentum than books released during the last two weeks because of how Amazon records sales. Also, readers are more willing to spend money at the beginning of a month. But again, if you’re releasing series novels and your readers are foaming at the mouth, you may want to publish as soon as they’re ready, regardless of the date.
Do you consider the date of book launches? What month/day/date worked well for your books, and why?
Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs at the Kill Zone (Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers”). Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3), Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-7 and continuing). Sue’s appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. Find out more about our RWC team here and connect with Sue below or at www.suecoletta.com.
Great info, Sue. I always try to release my “ghostly” reads mid-September/October, hoping to pick up the Halloween vibe. I never would have thought December is a bad month for a Christmas release, but looking back on it I buy most of them in November or early in December.
And I was clueless that it’s better to release early in a month rather than later (though I always do try to stick to Tuesdays). I will have to remember that advice for the future!
Such great information–I had never thought about keeping distance from Christmas for kidlit, and that makes so much good sense. Parents will be looking ahead for books to buy for summer reading in Q2, too.
We have released books in early summer (because we had to with our schedule, not because we wanted to) and we’ve learned it’s not a good time to release. Too many people are offline and enjoying their yards, holidays, relaxing, and not looking to think too hard about anything. So we’ve definitely learned through trial and error. 🙂
I learned that lesson the hard way, too, Angela. In fact, that’s what sent me down this rabbit hole. At least we know now, right? Better late than never! LOL
Exactly. We have found both fall and spring to be good targets for our book releases. This is so much food for thought!
That’s fascinating. Who would have thought book sales are so dependant on the day and month? And it seems counterintuitive not to release Christmas books in December.
I was also surprised when I first discovered this, VM. Hence my motivation to share it. 😉 As with most things, timing is just one aspect of a successful launch, but it’s an important one.
This is a wealth of information. So much of it is trial and error, isn’t it? Ange and I released one book during the summer, and the response was lackluster, to say the least. Everyone’s on vacation and not sitting so much at their keyboards. Summer releases definitely don’t work for us, so we won’t be doing that again :).
So true, Becca! And yes, it really is trial and error. I learned the hard way, too. *sigh* Which led me down this rabbit hole. From now on, I’ll be paying more attention to the date, day, and month.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the post. 😀
I’d add to try and be aware of big free promotions, particularly in your genre. I say this with the benefit of hindsight. I unwittingly scheduled release of my latest romance a week after the huge “Stuff Your ereader” free romance promotion. Not much interest in buying new romance books at normal price when people have stocked up huge numbers for free. I won’t fall into that trap again if I can avoid it!
Excellent point, Carolyn! That was a hard lesson to learn, I bet. You’re not alone by any means. I released my latest series novel on June 26, which wouldn’t’ve been too bad if it weren’t for the heatwave that hit out of nowhere. It felt more like an August release. I’ve been playing catch-up ever since. *sigh*