What Is the Best Month to Publish a Nonfiction Book?
What is the best month to publish a nonfiction book?
You might be about to publish or self-publish and find yourself wondering if there’s a best time of the year to publish a book.
After all, a million books are published each year, and you want yours to stand out. You can use every advantage you can get.
There is no bad time to publish a book. But there are some considerations—especially for the self-published author, the “indie author.”
If you’re traditionally published, the best month to publish will usually be determined for you.
Every publishing house has three to four seasons per year. In the traditional publishing industry, book launch dates depend on the genre, the intended audience, the subject matter, and the resources allocated to marketing and promotion.
If you have a tie-in for your book, run with it! But get your book out a few weeks, at least, before that tie-in. In other words, if your book is about Christmas, you wouldn’t publish it on Christmas Day. You would publish it as Christmas season begins!
Books attract more interest when linked to a holiday, an anniversary, or a seasonal, month-long, or annual celebration or commemoration.
So, what is the best month or best time of the year to publish a book? The best time of year to self-publish a book? (We’re talking about nonfiction books here, folks.)
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Scroll down to “In Sum” for the summary.
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January–April
Self-help
Business
Cooking
Exercise
Relationships
Religious/Devotional
Memoir
Gardening
Travel
Many people make New Year’s resolutions. They want to tackle a new challenge in the new year. They want a fresh start. You may want to publish a book during the first quarter if you’re writing in these genres.
(Christian) religious books are often published in and in highest demand at time right around Easter.
Publish travel books in the winter, when people in cold climates are getting cabin fever and people everywhere are planning summer trips.
May–August
Academic books
Biographies
Personal Finance
Home Improvements
Finding a Job
Books will need to be published in time for college and graduate students to purchase them and professors to read them for their research or their courses.
Libraries are often most active in buying books at the end of their fiscal year.
Dad might want a Father’s Day gift.
In the US, many people get their tax refunds in Q2. You might also want to release investing or personal finance books during those months, or books about home improvements.
Humor books might also do well in the summer (at the end of the year).
July and August tend to be slow months in publishing. People are away on vacation / on holiday (or about to go back to school) and are distracted by other things.
September–October
History
Politics
True Crime
Fall means going back to school. US elections. Time to learn.
When you think “Autumn” (and you live in a temperate climate) you think of falling leaves. Halloween. Darkness setting in. Anything scary can be in higher demand during the autumn months. For fiction, that means horror. For nonfiction, true crime.
Fall is often when the big publishing houses release their longer, weightier, more anticipated titles.
As a self-published author, you may be competing against these titles. Is there a certain anniversary you can tie in with instead? If so, launch your book then.
November–December
Cookbooks
Trivia and novelty books
Children’s books
Holiday-related books
November and December is holiday gift-giving time. Publish a book that’s highly likely to be purchased as a gift, and you may see more movement.
During these months, fewer fiction titles tend to be published, too. By this time, the big-name biographies and memoirs released in the fall will still be selling.
Is there a best day of the week to publish a book?
You can publish any day of the week you want. If you don’t want to (potentially) be overshadowed by the big publishers, don’t publish earlier in the week.
Traditionally-published books are typically released on Mondays or Tuesdays (and sometimes on Wednesdays).
The goal is to maximize publicity, and more people pay attention during the week. There are fewer holidays on Tuesdays, and fewer people who might have a long weekend.
On the other hand, if you want your book to show up next to one of the big presses’ new releases, go for it.
In sum, here’s how to decide what time of year to publish a book:
Look for an annual, monthly, or one-time tie-in to link to your book.
Remember that certain genres and types of books are published during certain months of the year.
Self-help, how-to, and relationship books early in the year; travel and academic books in the spring and summer; history, politics, and true crime in the fall; and gift books in November and December.
Consider that the majority of traditionally-published books are released early in the week—especially on Tuesdays.
Publishing a memoir or cookbook? You can be more flexible with your release date. But look for a tie-in!
Friend, if you’re a traditionally-published author, don’t try to analyze why your book is being released when it is. Just embrace the marketing and promotions push and have fun evangelizing your book.
If you’re a self-publishing “indie” author, just pick a date and go with it!
Also, if you’re an indie author, consider setting up a pre-order to build buzz for your book.
E-books can go on pre-order on most online retailers up to a year in advance.
If you’re self-publishing a print book with IngramSpark, you can put it on pre-order, too.
So, when will you launch your book?
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