Okay, you've written your first great book, and maybe you have a whole set of them ready to go. At this point, the main question becomes "When do I release them?"
To most folks who aren't attuned to the writing world, they won't care, or they won't get the importance of the right date. Most simply see books on shelves at WalMart or Barnes & Noble, and they figure they've always been there. For the indie writer, this could lead to disaster.
Time your books for your audience. If you want to write sappy romance novels, look to release in February when tales of Valentine's Day hold sway over the imaginations of young single women(or even old married women whose romance has run its course). Want to write a political novel? Look at the mid-October timeframe since that's when the juices are flowing the best, or at late January after a Presidential Inauguration since that's when those who lost are the most despondent and looking for a way to fight back after the country told them they preferred the other guy.
And here are some don'ts - don't release a book for the young adult crowd in September. They're in school, and the last thing they want to do is read another book, even if it's something that interests them. Don't release a Christmas novel in May - your audience isn't yet in the Christmas mood, and no one will care about your tale of Santa possessed by demons. Don't just pick a random date and hope that true fans will just get it. They won't.
Location matters in real estate, and timing matters in books. Most folks go on vacations in the summer, and many look for travel reading material. Families come together in December and look for ways to keep occupied during long cold months inside. Figure out which timing circumstances matter to the readers you're targeting and go for those dates. And don't be afraid to delay if you're not ready. After all, what good is it to be out there at the wrong time and get no notice?
To most folks who aren't attuned to the writing world, they won't care, or they won't get the importance of the right date. Most simply see books on shelves at WalMart or Barnes & Noble, and they figure they've always been there. For the indie writer, this could lead to disaster.
Time your books for your audience. If you want to write sappy romance novels, look to release in February when tales of Valentine's Day hold sway over the imaginations of young single women(or even old married women whose romance has run its course). Want to write a political novel? Look at the mid-October timeframe since that's when the juices are flowing the best, or at late January after a Presidential Inauguration since that's when those who lost are the most despondent and looking for a way to fight back after the country told them they preferred the other guy.
And here are some don'ts - don't release a book for the young adult crowd in September. They're in school, and the last thing they want to do is read another book, even if it's something that interests them. Don't release a Christmas novel in May - your audience isn't yet in the Christmas mood, and no one will care about your tale of Santa possessed by demons. Don't just pick a random date and hope that true fans will just get it. They won't.
Location matters in real estate, and timing matters in books. Most folks go on vacations in the summer, and many look for travel reading material. Families come together in December and look for ways to keep occupied during long cold months inside. Figure out which timing circumstances matter to the readers you're targeting and go for those dates. And don't be afraid to delay if you're not ready. After all, what good is it to be out there at the wrong time and get no notice?
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