How to Budget Your Book Launch
As indie authors we’re always excited (and terrified) about putting our book babies into the world. The problem is we’ve probably bled ourselves dry paying for editing and cover design.
There is no right or wrong way to conduct a book launch and while I will be talking about some free options, keep in mind that time is never free. I will not be going over timelines or checklists, just paid and free tools at your disposal.
At this point, you should be done or almost with your cover. And while you don’t need a social media account, it doesn’t hurt to have one. I don’t have all of my author acquaintances phone numbers or email addresses, but we are connected through chats, and most are happy to help!
Some items on this list can be either free or paid.
Free
· Canva. I cannot stress enough the money you can save by making your own ads to pass out. There is a paid version, but you don’t need it.
· Word of mouth, whether it’s your street team, cover revel team, or family and friends. They can help you spread the word.
· Newsletter swaps
· Guest blog post
· Live launch party on social media (make sure you have an exciting buildup).
· Published author endorsement, or book reviewer
· ARCs (I put this here because you can get free ARC readers, but it’s also a double-edged sword because you are giving your book out for reviews and not collecting royalties)
· Reader groups such as Goodreads, book clubs (local and online), and Books2Read
· Author website: Blogger, Substack, Ko–Fi, and WordPress. The importance of an author website is having a dumping ground for all things related to your book(s).
· Newsletter. Not everyone loves social media. MailerLite offers free service to a point.
· Prolific Works for ebook giveaways. My critique partner found it very useful and received more than 1000+ downloads. It helps when you’re trying to get reviews in before the launch.
Paid
· Book swag: bookmarks, stickers, brochures, postcards, maps and, character art etc.
· Advertisements: Facebook, book tours, book trailers, etc.
· free signed copies for confirmed ARC (advanced reader copies) reviews
· paid endorsements – i.e. Kirkus Reviews, book reviewer
· ARCs – NetGalley and BookSirens are the top two on any list.
· Schedule eBook discount promo (free: you can spread the word yourself or use BookBub, which has paid and free available).
· Author websites – WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.
· Indirect marketing websites for your book. Some of these can be used to send ARCs or even physical copies. I use Bookfunnel ($20 per year) to send free copies to anyone I send the link to. A few others are StoryOrigin and Kingsumo (both have free and paid plans available).
· For help finding keywords, Publisher Rocket can be a useful tool.
· The top paid newsletters are MailerLite and MailChimp.
Tips
· Budget ahead of time. If you’re looking at spending some cash make sure you have enough. If you’re planning on book swag add in tax and shipping. Or if you plan on sending your book to an international reader, make sure to have a shipping estimate.
· I’ve known a few authors who have used Kickstarter with rave reviews.
· Ask your beta readers or critique partners to review your pitch and blurb before sharing it with the world.
· We think $250–$300 is a good budget to start with.
Example:
Here is my book launch budget and list.
· Bookmarks from Vistaprint – 50 ct. for $27 (tax and shipping, lowest quality)
· Two stickers from StickerMule – 40 ct. each for $80 (including tax and shipping)
· Surprise gift for ARC and beta readers from Canva – 50 ct. for $33 (tax and shipping)
· I designed my own ads using Canva and will ask all family, friends, and fellow writers/authors to share.
· NetGalley – for ARCs. As stated in her NetGalley for Indie Authors: Victory Editing’s Co–Op, NetGalley is good for authors with multiple books. So I’m going to take a back seat on this one until I have at least three books published.
· BookSirens – for ARCs. It’s $10 per book and you will be billed $2 per person who downloads it. So this isn’t cut and dry. I’ll round up to 50 readers and pray they review my book = $110.
· ARCs (friends, family, and fellow authors) free, but I will send cool stuff as a thank you.
My total estimated cost for this book launch: $250
We hope this list will help you plan a great book launch! And if any of you have additional tips, websites, or insights please leave them in the comments below.
What a great article!! I really wish I had such a article to refer when I published my debut novel 3 years ago. An invaluable resource for indie authors.