FOR AUTHORS
What Should Authors Post on Social Media Between Releases?
What should authors post between releases? A balanced mix of story, process and reader posts, series reminders, countdowns and a weekly plan.
A week-by-week book launch timeline for self-published authors, from finished files and pre-orders to launch week and the months that follow.
A good book launch plan begins roughly three months before release. Finish the files and cover, set up the book’s pages and any pre-order, and use the final six weeks to build anticipation through your mailing list and social channels. In launch week, email your list before you switch on ads. Then keep promoting for at least a month.
A launch isn’t one day. It’s a few weeks in which your mailing list and social media point readers at the same book at once, along with your retailer pages and any ads. That focus is what gets a new title noticed. You only get it if the groundwork is done well ahead of time, and that’s where a book launch plan earns its keep.
The timeline below is for self-published authors in the UK who publish mainly through Amazon KDP, with or without other retailers. Move the timings around to suit you. Try to keep the order, though.
Allow three months as a comfortable minimum for your first serious launch. Allow more if you’re commissioning a cover, photography or video. Later books in a series can move quicker because the website and list are already in place, as is the look. The big rule is to finish the book before the promotion starts, since launching while you’re still editing is the most common reason authors miss their deadlines.
| When | Focus | Key tasks |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months or more before | Foundations | Final edit, cover, description, categories and keywords, KDP Select or wide, website and mailing list ready |
| 6 to 8 weeks before | Assets | Pre-order live, launch graphics and video, early readers lined up, ad creative drafted |
| 2 to 4 weeks before | Anticipation | Cover reveal, excerpts, regular posts, reminder emails, ads tested |
| Launch week | Concentration | Email your list, post daily, switch on ads, thank readers |
| 1 to 3 months after | Momentum | Share reviews and reader reactions, adjust ads, promote the backlist |
By now the final edit and proofread should be finished or nearly there, along with the cover and the description. Pick your categories and keywords so they’re live from day one. If you’re torn between KDP Select and going wide, decide now, because it changes what you’re allowed to do. An ebook in KDP Select has to be exclusive to KDP in digital form, which means you can’t also sell it or give it away on your own site.
Your mailing list drives the whole launch. It reaches people who’ve already said yes to hearing from you. No list yet? Start one today and put a sign-up link in the back of your existing books. Then check that your author website shows the new book and the series order, with an obvious sign-up. Our guide to building an author mailing list explains how to grow one in the time you’ve got.
Publish a print edition in the UK and legal deposit applies to you as the publisher. According to the National Library of Scotland, the law applies to anyone who publishes in the UK, and a copy also has to go separately to the British Library. Check what’s currently required before release day.
A pre-order collects sales before release and gives you a link to share for weeks beforehand. KDP only offers pre-orders for ebooks, so paperbacks and hardcovers are out. If you create a pre-order on or after 2 September 2026, you can set the release date up to 18 months ahead.
Respect the deadline. You must upload and submit the final manuscript at least 72 hours before release. Miss it and the pre-order gets cancelled, and customers are told. KDP lets the first miss go as a one-time courtesy. A second one strips pre-order privileges from your entire catalogue for six months, so set yourself a private deadline a week or two earlier and stick to it.
Get your launch assets ready. You’ll want cover images sized for each platform and a few quote or excerpt graphics. Add a short video of you talking about the book, plus an up-to-date author photo.
Line up early readers next. Lots of authors send advance copies to a small group who are free to post an honest review at launch. If you do, keep it clean. Fake reviews and reviews that hide an incentive have been a banned practice under UK law since April 2025, and retailers have review rules of their own on top.
Draft your ad creative while you’re at it. That means the images and short copy, plus the audience you’ll target. Our plain-English guide to Facebook and Instagram ads for authors walks through the set-up. And write your emails now. The announcement and the reminder come out better when you aren’t rushing, and so does the launch-day email.
The job now is to build anticipation without boring people. Give readers reasons to look up: a cover reveal, the opening page as an excerpt, a peek behind the scenes at your research or setting, and then a countdown in the final week. Post to a regular rhythm on the one or two platforms you use most. Send your list a short update with the pre-order link.
Running ads? Test them on a low daily budget before launch so you know which image and which wording sell. Then you spend launch week scaling what works and you aren’t left guessing.
This is where most authors give up too soon. Launch sales often tail off, and it’s the weeks that follow, with consistent promotion, that keep a book visible. Share new reviews and reader photos. Keep a lighter posting rhythm going. Look at your ads every week and pause anything that isn’t selling.
Got earlier books? Use the launch to sell those as well. If you’re in KDP Select you can run a Kindle Countdown Deal on an older title for up to seven days, scheduled at least 24 hours in advance, with one deal allowed per 90-day enrolment term. A discounted book one can pull new readers into a series right as the newest instalment lands.
Announcing a date before the book is finished is the big one. It squeezes the edit and puts your pre-order deadline at risk.
Close behind is launching to nobody. Without a list or an engaged following, launch week stays quiet however good the book is.
Blowing the ad budget on day one is another. Test first, then scale what works over several weeks. Trying to do everything at once is a trap too. You’ll get more from doing email and one platform properly, plus a modest ad test, than from spreading yourself thin across six channels.
And finally, stopping after a week. Plan at least a month of follow-up before you even start.
We started out as the in-house team for our founder, the USA Today bestselling author Jack Cartwright. We ran his social media and videos. We also did his ads and book covers, and built his website. We can plan and run your launch campaigns, look after your social media through the build-up and after it, and make sure your website is ready for the readers you send its way. We agree a clear brief, scope and fee with you before any creative work begins. For the bigger picture, read how we market self-published authors.
Treat it as roughly two months, with four to six weeks of build-up before release and at least four weeks of follow-up after. Launch week is the peak. The promotion on either side of it is what makes that peak worth having.
For an ebook, often yes. You get a link to share, and keen readers can buy early. Only set one up when you’re sure the final manuscript will be ready, because KDP wants it at least 72 hours before release and penalises missed deadlines. You can’t put paperbacks or hardcovers on KDP pre-order.
No. An event, in person or online, can be lovely for readers and gives you good social content, but it’s optional. For most indie authors, a mailing list backed by regular posts and well-tested ads sells more books than a single event does.
You can, but it’s a lot harder, because you’re relying on algorithms and ads to find every single reader. If time is short, start a small list now. Put the sign-up link in the back of the new book so the next launch is easier.
There’s no standard figure. Start with a small daily budget you’d be happy to lose while you test, then only spend more on the ads that bring in sales. Judge them on sales. Clicks don’t count.
What should authors post between releases? A balanced mix of story, process and reader posts, series reminders, countdowns and a weekly plan.
Learn how to give every book in a series a consistent look, with colour per book, clear numbering, box set covers and refreshes that help read-through.
Why indie authors sell ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks from their own site, how delivery works, and what to check on VAT and KDP Select first.
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A closer look at the work behind each part of your plan.
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