A 12-week book launch timeline for an indie author, working back from release day

A launch works when the pieces land in order: the book is final before the review copies go, the list hears before the public, and the public hears on one day rather than across three weeks. This timeline starts twelve weeks before release day and runs four weeks past it. The dates that come from Amazon are from KDP Help as read on 1 November 2026; the rest is the order that lets each step feed the next.

It assumes the manuscript is edited and proofread at week twelve. If it is not, move release day.

Week 12: decide the shape of the launch

• Choose between a preorder and going straight to release. KDP lets you set an ebook release date up to 18 months ahead for preorders created on or after 2 September 2026, per the KDP pre-order help. A preorder gives you a live Amazon link for every email and swap in the next twelve weeks. The cost is that preorder sales count on the day they are placed, so they do not stack into a launch-day rank. For a first book with a small list, the live link is usually worth more.
• Choose between KDP Select and going wide now, because it changes where the preorder goes up. Our article on Select or wide, per book sets out the trade.
• Plan the paperback date, because KDP has no paperback preorder. Its Schedule a Release option sets a print release date 5 to 90 days ahead, and the page appears on that day. Plan to schedule it at week six so both editions arrive together.
• If you want your own imprint on the paperback, buy the ISBN now; KDP's free one can only be used on KDP.

Week 11: lock the files

Finish the interior for ebook and print and the cover with its back and spine, then check every link in the back matter, especially the mailing list link. Set up the preorder on KDP and, if you are going wide, on Kobo, Apple Books and Google Play; our guide to each store covers how. Upload the final file to the preorder now rather than a placeholder. KDP requires it 72 hours before release, and a second missed deadline removes your preorder privileges for six months.

Week 10: build the review team list

Decide how many reviewers you want and ask more than that, because not everyone who says yes will finish in time. Draw from your list first, then from readers who reviewed your last book, then from genre groups where asking is allowed. Tell each one the dates: copy arrives week eight, review goes up launch week. KDP Help on customer reviews says you may provide a free or discounted copy as long as you do not require a review in exchange or try to influence it, and that offering anything else, including gift cards, invalidates the review.

Week 9: book the paid and partner slots

• If you have a previous book, this is when a discount on it does the most good. BookBub answers Featured Deal submissions within seven days and schedules only up to 30 days out, per BookBub's support pages, so a launch-week deal on book one is submitted about now.
• Agree newsletter swaps for launch week and the week after. Partners with a calendar fill up, and four weeks out is already late for the better ones. Our swaps article covers what to agree.
• Ask bookshops, libraries and podcasts now if you want anything in launch month.

Week 8: review copies out

Send the advance copies, watermarked if you can, with a short note that repeats the launch date and says where to post. Advance review copies are exempt from KDP Select exclusivity, per ALLi's reading of the Select terms, so the ebook going into Select does not stop you sending them. The Indie Author Toolchest sends review copies from your author page through a request link with your approval, and the file is watermarked to the reader; BookFunnel and StoryOrigin do the delivery side on their paid plans.

Week 7: write the launch emails

Write five emails now: the cover reveal, the preorder or launch announcement, the launch-day email, a mid-week nudge with an early review quote, and a thank-you at the end of launch week.

Week 6: cover reveal and press kit

• Reveal the cover to your list first, a day before anywhere else. Then post it everywhere with the preorder link.
• Finish the press kit: bio, headshot, cover, blurb, a press release with a date and a contact, and your store links on one page. Our article on what to include is the checklist. Send it to the bookshops, libraries and local press you contacted at week nine.
• Schedule the paperback release on KDP for release day. The 90-day window opened at week twelve; six weeks leaves room for a printing problem.

Week 5: update your author page and store listings

Add the new book to your author page with every store link and the series order updated. On Amazon, check that Author Central shows the new title and that the paperback and ebook are linked once the paperback appears.

Week 4: check in with reviewers

Send one email to the review team with a reminder of the date and a note that reviews can go on Goodreads now and on Amazon from release day. Fix anything they found and re-upload; you have until 72 hours before release.

Week 3: send the preorder email

If you ran a preorder, this is the one email about it to the whole list, with one link. If you did not, send the date and the cover instead and say where the book will be. Confirm the swap dates with each partner.

Week 2: final files and final checks

KDP's 72-hour deadline falls in week one, so finish a week early. Check the ebook on a Kindle and a phone, check the print proof, and check that the back-matter link lands on the right page. Load the five emails into your mailing tool, dated, and leave them unsent.

Week 1: the last 72 hours

Submit the final ebook file before the KDP deadline. Confirm the paperback shows as scheduled. Message the review team with the exact Amazon link.

Launch week

1. Release day: the launch email goes to the list in the morning in your readers' time zone, with one link to the page of your choice, which for a wide author is your own page with every store on it.
2. Day two and three: swaps go out on the agreed days.
3. Day four: the mid-week email goes out with an early review quote and the paperback link, to readers who did not click the first one.
4. Day seven: the thank-you email goes out with the review link for anyone who has finished.

Weeks 1 to 4 after launch

• Run a group promo in week two, with book one or the reader magnet, to catch the readers the swaps brought in.
• Run a second round of swaps in weeks three and four, now with reviews to quote.
• Month end: write down sales by store, list growth and review count against what you expected at week twelve. That page is the first entry in the plan for the next book.