Ten book marketing lessons, in the order you need them.
The lessons follow the calendar of a nonfiction book, starting about a year before launch and running into the second year after it. Each one has a short "what you will do" box, worked examples, real author tactics with links, and a homework list you can finish in a week or two.
If your launch is close, start with the term you are in and come back for the earlier lessons later. If you want the whole path as dates, the Launch Plan Builder turns these lessons into a week-by-week plan from your launch date.
12 to 3 months out
The quiet term. Nothing here is public yet, and that is the point: the decisions you make now decide whether launch week is calm or frantic.
- Lesson 1: Start with the readerBook marketing starts with one person, not a crowd. You will name the one reader the book is for, the one job the book has in your work, and write the one sentence (the North Star sentence from The Scribe Method) that every later choice is checked against. The lesson shows why a book that tries to reach everyone usually reaches nobody, and how authors such as Mario Simonyan built everything around a narrow reader on purpose.
- Lesson 2: A one-page book marketing planA book marketing plan does not need forty pages. This lesson gives you a one-page template with seven boxes: the goal, the reader, where that reader already pays attention, the three channels you will use, the dated milestones, the budget in copies and hours, and the numbers you will watch. A filled-in example shows the plan for a hypothetical consultant, and the lesson ends by sending you to the Launch Plan Builder to put dates on it.
- Lesson 3: Your Amazon book pageYour Amazon page is where most readers decide. The lesson covers the current KDP rules for keywords (up to seven, and what Amazon says to leave out), the three categories you choose, the 4,000-character description and what it may not contain, and your Author Central page. Every rule links to the Amazon help page it came from, and a worked example shows a full set of keywords for a nonfiction business book.
- Lesson 4: Early readers and honest reviewsHow to get book reviews the honest way. You will build an early reader list, decide who gets a free advance copy, and write the invitation. The lesson sets out what Amazon allows (free copies, as long as you do not require a review or try to influence it) and what it does not (paid reviews, review swaps between authors, reviews from close friends and family), with the exact wording from Amazon's pages.
The last 3 months and launch week
The public term. Interviews are recorded, copies go out, and the book arrives. This term is about doing a few things well rather than everything at once.
- Lesson 5: The podcast tourHow to get on podcasts as a guest when you are a first-time author. You will build a shortlist of shows your reader already listens to, write a pitch that offers the host's audience something specific, and plan the follow-up. Kyle Thiermann mailed about 150 signed books to hosts and influencers; Hadley Ott reached about 15 podcasts with steady cold outreach. Both approaches are broken down step by step.
- Lesson 6: Launch weekHow to launch a book without trying to do everything in seven days. The lesson gives you a day-by-day launch week, one event (a bookstore, a community you belong to, a room of people who already know you), the emails to send, and what to skip. Examples include Eddy Arriola's sold-out bookstore night, MyLinh Shattan's launch at West Point and Nicholas Capman's Barnes & Noble table.
Put the book to work
For most nonfiction authors this is where the book earns its keep. The launch is a moment; the first year is where the book does the job you gave it.
- Lesson 7: The book as a sales toolThe book as the best business card you will ever hand out. You will plan who gets copies (prospects, new clients, referral partners), how they are sent, and how you will know it worked. Michael Erath mails 75 to 100 copies a month at about $16 each; Mario Simonyan's firm has handed out about 10,000 copies without running a single ad. The lesson includes the cost math and a simple tracking sheet.
- Lesson 8: Speaking with your bookHow to turn chapters into talks, and how to put a book in every seat. You will draft one talk from the book, write the ask that gets event hosts to buy copies, and plan the signing table. Ron Thurston asks hosts to buy books and writes it into the contract; Rachel A. Williamson's host pre-bought about 200 copies, and a CEO in the signing line asked to hire her.
Keep it working
Books that keep finding readers are usually backed by a small habit, kept up for years. This term sets up the habit and the scorecard.
- Lesson 9: Year twoAn author newsletter, content made from the chapters, and the small weekly habits that keep a book working long after launch. You will set up a newsletter rhythm you can keep, map a year of posts from your chapters, and plan one refresh of your Amazon page. Examples include Ron Thurston's thirty minutes a day on LinkedIn and Eddy Arriola's hundred-week commitment.
- Lesson 10: What to measureWhat to count when sales rank is the wrong number. You will set up a one-page scorecard of the numbers that match your book's job: copies placed, conversations started, invitations received, clients who read the book first. The lesson explains what Amazon says its rank does and does not show, and why Paul Hobby's book still brings reader mail with no marketing at all.
Want the lessons as a calendar?
The Launch Plan Builder takes your launch date, the book's job and your weekly hours, and lays these lessons out as dated tasks.