When to Start Marketing Your Book

The other day, I read an email from an author preparing for her debut picture book launch. She had just signed with a traditional publisher. A huge milestone. The kind of moment you work toward for years. In her message, she was asking other authors for advice on how to plan her launch: where to host it, how to structure it, and what might help make it successful.

All great questions, important ones. But the email gave me pause. It pointed to something I see all the time. By the time most authors start thinking about marketing, they’re already late. Not because they’ve done anything wrong. But because no one really tells you this part.

Publishing a book is not the end of the work. In many ways, it’s the beginning of a completely different phase of it.

The Part No One Prepares You For

Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, authors are still expected to help build momentum around their books. Visibility doesn’t just happen because a book exists. A launch doesn’t come together because you’re excited. And even when there is outside support, much of the connecting, planning, sharing, and showing up still falls to the author.

That reality surprises people. Because we’re taught to focus on the writing. The craft. The story. But not always on what happens after the book is real.

Why I Think About Marketing Differently

Before I became an author, I spent twenty years in merchandising and brand strategy. I understand how people discover things. What makes them pay attention. What builds trust. What actually moves someone from “that’s interesting” to “I want this.”

And when I started publishing my own books, I realized something quickly: Launching a book isn’t one moment. It’s not one post, one event, or one announcement to your family and friends. It’s a series of intentional touchpoints that increase visibility, build connection and help the right people encounter your book in meaningful ways over time.

The strongest launches I’ve seen all have one thing in common: They started earlier than expected and they have a plan, a strategy…all built with intention.

The Mistake I See Most Often

Most authors start thinking about marketing when the book is already done. Which makes sense. You’ve spent months, sometimes years, writing and revising. If you’re traditionally published, you may have spent even longer querying and waiting.

So, when the book is finally real, the instinct is: Okay, it’s done. Now we can start talking about it. But good marketing doesn’t work well under pressure. It needs space. It needs perspective. It needs a little distance from the emotional moment of “my book is finally here” so you can ask better questions:

• Who is this book actually for?

• Where do those readers already spend time?

• What will make them care?

• How do I build familiarity before I ask for attention?

If you are waiting till the book is published to announce it, your audience is just hearing about it for the first time. And most people don’t act the first time they see something. They may notice it. Then they notice it again. Then they start to recognize it. Then maybe they care. That’s how visibility works.

Which means your job isn’t just to announce your book. It’s to create enough thoughtful moments of connection that your book becomes familiar. Memorable. Relevant.

How I Approach It

I don’t start with: “What do I want to say about my book?”

I start with: “What does my audience need to hear in order to care?”

That shift matters. Because people aren’t waiting to be marketed to. They respond to relevance. To connection. To trust. And those things take time to build. When I launch a book, I don’t think in terms of one event or one week. I think in terms of phases. Preparation. Relationship building. Visibility. Conversion. Continuation. Each stage has a purpose. Each stage builds on the one before it. And when it’s done well, the launch doesn’t feel rushed or overwhelming. It feels supported.

If You’re an Author Navigating This

If you’re in the middle of writing, revising, querying, or preparing to publish, this is the part I want you to take with you: Start earlier than you think. Not with pressure. But with awareness. With intention. With thoughtful steps that build over time.

I shared the exact framework I use to plan my book launches on my Patreon. Not just the ideas, but the actual timeline.

What happens months before publication.
What shifts as you get closer.
What matters most at each stage.

It’s the structure that helps me move from “I have a book coming out” to “people know about it, care about it, and are ready for it.”

If you’re an author looking for something more tangible to guide your own book launch, you can find my 6-month reverse planning framework on my Patreon.

Final Thought

Book marketing can feel overwhelming. Especially after the emotional work of creating something meaningful. But it becomes more manageable when you stop thinking about it as one big moment…

…and start seeing it as a build. A series of small, intentional steps. A way of helping your story reach the people it was always meant for.