The difference between a book that launches with momentum and one that disappears on Day 2 isn’t luck. It’s a launch plan that starts 90 days before publication and doesn’t leave anything to the last week.
This is the indie author’s pre-launch checklist for 2026. Every item is something you can actually do without an agent, a publicist, or a five-figure budget. Print this. Tape it to your wall. Cross things off as you go.
90 Days Before Launch
This is the strategy phase. You’re not promoting anything yet. You’re setting up the infrastructure.
- [ ] Finalize your manuscript. Not “almost done.” Done. Editing continues until day 7, but the structure is locked.
- [ ] Choose your launch date. Pick a Tuesday. Tuesdays are when most books are published and Amazon’s algorithm expects it.
- [ ] Pick your platforms. KDP only? KDP + IngramSpark? Audiobook? Decide now so the formatting timeline lines up.
- [ ] Buy your ISBNs if you need them. Bowker’s 10-pack at $295 is the sweet spot for most authors. (See our ISBN guide for the full breakdown.)
- [ ] Reserve your book’s domain. yournamebook.com or booktitle.com. $12/year on Cloudflare or Namecheap.
- [ ] Open a separate bank account or PayPal for book income. Not optional. Your taxes will be a nightmare otherwise.
60 Days Before Launch
Time to make the physical (and digital) book real.
- [ ] Finalize the cover. Both ebook and print versions. Different aspect ratios. The print cover needs spine width, which depends on final page count.
- [ ] Format the interior. Trim size, margins, fonts, page numbers. (See our KDP formatting guide if this is your first time.)
- [ ] Run your PDF through BookReady’s scanner. Catch embedded fonts, bleed issues, and DPI problems before they cost you 72 hours of rejection cycles.
- [ ] Write your book description. This is your ad copy on Amazon. Spend more time on it than feels reasonable.
- [ ] Set up your KDP and IngramSpark accounts. Tax forms, bank info, payment thresholds. Don’t wait until launch week.
- [ ] Build your launch team list. Start identifying friends, family, beta readers, and ARC candidates. You’ll need 50+ names by Day 30.
30 Days Before Launch
The marketing engine starts turning. This is when you stop being invisible.
- [ ] Send ARC invitations. Aim for 50 confirmed reviewers. Expect 20-30 to actually post a review on launch day.
- [ ] Set up pre-orders on KDP. Pre-orders count toward Day 1 sales, which boosts your rank. (Note: KDP requires you upload your final files 10 days before launch for pre-orders.)
- [ ] Build your book’s landing page. Where will you send people who click your ads or social posts? This is non-negotiable.
- [ ] Set up your Amazon Author Central profile. Bio, photo, blog feed, books list.
- [ ] Set up your Goodreads author page. Free reach, especially for fiction.
- [ ] Write 5-7 social media posts. Schedule them across launch week. Don’t write them at midnight on launch eve.
- [ ] Draft your launch announcement email. Send it to your whole list on launch day.
14 Days Before Launch
The book is locked. ARCs are out. Now you’re amplifying.
- [ ] Send ARC files. Include the EPUB, MOBI, AND PDF. Different readers, different preferences. Send all three.
- [ ] Include an ARC note. One short page explaining FTC disclosure, where to post the review, and a thank-you. Set the tone of relationship, not transaction.
- [ ] Confirm your final files are uploaded. Both KDP and IngramSpark. Run a final BookReady scan to be sure.
- [ ] Order author copies. You’ll want physical books in hand for photos, gifts, and signings.
- [ ] Schedule a Facebook or Instagram ad campaign. Start small ($5-10/day) to “warm up” the audience and Meta’s algorithm.
7 Days Before Launch
This is when most indie authors panic. You shouldn’t, because you started 90 days ago.
- [ ] Send a friendly ARC reminder. Many readers haven’t started yet. A polite nudge doubles your review conversion.
- [ ] Test every link. Your book page, your landing page, your Amazon URL, your email opt-in. Every link.
- [ ] Write your launch-day email. Subject line that gets opened. Three short paragraphs. One clear ask: buy and review.
- [ ] Prepare your social media graphics. Cover mockups, quote cards, behind-the-scenes photos. Schedule them through launch week.
- [ ] Identify your Day 1 “pulse moments.” When will you post? When will you email? When will you check rankings? Plan the day in 2-hour blocks.
Launch Day
Don’t refresh Amazon every 5 minutes. Work the plan.
- [ ] Send your launch email at 8am in your readers’ main timezone.
- [ ] Post on every social platform by 10am with the same announcement (different wording per platform).
- [ ] Send your ARC team the Amazon review URL the moment your book goes live. This is the single highest-leverage 10 minutes of your launch.
- [ ] Update your email signature with the book link.
- [ ] Pin a launch post on every social profile.
- [ ] Don’t pitch the book to your inner circle three times. Once. Politely. They love you, they’ll buy it.
Day 2 to Day 30 (Post-Launch)
This is where most launches die. Stay alive.
- [ ] Send a “thank you for week 1” email with milestones (review count, ranking, any media wins).
- [ ] Run a small Amazon Ads campaign. $5-10/day, targeting keywords from comparable books in your genre.
- [ ] Pitch podcasts. Look for shows that interview authors in your niche. Aim for 5 pitches per week for the first month.
- [ ] Ask your top 3 reviewers if they’d post the review on Goodreads and BookBub too.
- [ ] Watch your “Look Inside” preview. Update it if the first chapter formatting is off.
- [ ] Reply to every review, good or bad, with a one-line thank you on your social channels (never directly on Amazon reviews — that’s against policy).
Stuff You Should Skip
Real talk: most launch advice is people selling you things. Here’s what you don’t need.
- Press releases. Wire services charge $300+ and reach almost no actual readers. Skip.
- Paid book trailers. Nobody watches them.
- Author signing tour. Unless you already have an audience, this loses money on every stop.
- Blog tours via paid services. The blogs they pitch get 200 visitors a month.
- Buying reviews. Even from “review services.” Amazon will detect it, and your account will be suspended.
Final Thoughts
The launch isn’t a moment. It’s a 90-day process where you do small things consistently and the book picks up momentum from the right people seeing it at the right time. You can’t shortcut it, but you also can’t fail at it if you start early enough and follow the plan.
The authors who launch well aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who started 90 days before everyone else.
Your book deserves this. Start your timer today.
FAQs
Q: I’m 30 days from launch and just found this. Am I doomed?
A: No, but you’re going to work harder. Skip the 90-day items. Compress the 60-day items into this week. The 30-day list onward still applies. Most last-minute launches I’ve seen still got 10+ reviews on Day 1 with focused effort.
Q: Should I delay my launch if I’m not ready?
A: Yes, almost always. A delayed launch with a real ARC team beats a rushed launch every time. The book stays in print forever. Two months won’t matter.
Q: How much should I budget for launch marketing?
A: $500-1,500 is realistic for a first-time author who wants to do this right. Bigger budgets help, but not as much as you’d think. ARC platforms ($49-599), a small ad budget ($300), professional cover ($500-1,500 if you don’t DIY), and a few miscellaneous costs.
Q: What if I have zero email subscribers?
A: Start collecting them today. A reader magnet (free short story or chapter) on a simple landing page is enough. Even 50 subscribers at launch is better than zero.
Q: Do pre-orders actually help?
A: For ebooks yes — all pre-orders count toward Day 1 ranking. For paperbacks KDP doesn’t offer pre-orders, so the only pre-order strategy is ebook-first.