Your contract is signed. Hooray! Congratulations!
We know you’re excited—and we are too! But in these early days after signing your contract, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes: scheduling, production planning, and initial marketing prep. By holding off on outreach and by following these guidelines, you help set the stage for a coordinated, effective launch of your book.
Here are some things NOT to do right now.
PLEASE DO NOT: Ask your editor a bunch of questions about marketing. There’s a whole lot of answers all throughout this author guide. Dig in.
PLEASE DO NOT: Worry if you don’t hear from marketing immediately after signing the contract. The team will be in touch at key milestones and will provide you with all the next steps (including the marketing questionnaire).
PLEASE DO NOT: Pepper the marketing aides and marketing team with ideas. You’ll receive a marketing questionnaire very soon. Hold on to those ideas for the questionnaire.
PLEASE DO NOT: Share cover art, interior images, or screenshots from the book on social media until you’ve confirmed with the marketing team. Sometimes designs are not final or are embargoed, and sharing too soon can create confusion or even rights issues.
PLEASE DO NOT: Announce your book’s release date on your own social media channels until the marketing team confirms the official date and copy. Dates can shift slightly, and we want to make sure all messaging is accurate and consistent.
PLEASE DO NOT: Start scheduling any signing, event, or media appearance.
PLEASE DO NOT: Introduce yourself to your local bookstore by talking about your book. However, if you have never shopped in your local bookstore, now is a fine time to become a customer. Learn what your local bookseller is trying to share with the community. Let’s wait a bit (and let’s shop a bit) before introducing yourself as an author.
PLEASE DO NOT: Reach out to the media (reporters, reviewers, podcasts, etc.) on your own about the book just yet. Early, unsynchronized outreach can lead to mixed messages or duplicate efforts. There’s nothing worse than getting interest from a reviewer or interviewer only to have no advance or publicity materials to share. Let’s coordinate together through the marketing plan.
There are several things you CAN do right now that will contribute to the success of your book. Please take a look at <link to each of these articles in the guide>
DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE AND RESEARCH WHERE THEY ARE ACTIVE
BEGIN BUILDING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
START COLLECTING AND ORGANIZING CONTACTS
HOW TO MAKE AN ELEVATOR PITCH AND CREATE Q&As