How to Market Your Book Before and After Publishing

Most authors treat marketing as something that starts when book publishing Toronto is already done. By then, you’ve already missed the window that makes launch week matter. The authors who build real readership start months before publication, and they keep going long after the launch buzz fades.

To promote your book successfully, you need a book promotion plan from start to finish. For a truly impactful launch you both sides of the story should unfold side by side, focusing on what works in the market, so you can develop a sustainable audience and sell more.

Why Marketing Has to Start Before the Book Exists

Every first-time author has made the mistake of considering their book as a product launch instead of a relationship-building tool. Advertising can create sales that happen right at the time of the product launch. A book builds trust slowly, and trust takes time to accumulate.

It is best to begin 6 months prior to your publication date. Not because you’re writing o sell, but because you have to be present as an author; as someone with a point of view; you have to be a person with following before the book even have a cove.

Begin with your author platform: a basic website, an email list, and one or two social media channels that your target audience really uses. Being on all of them is not necessary. The ones that reach readers who would purchase this book are what you need.

Building Anticipation in the Pre-Launch Phase

Pre-launch is the period of time between approximately 12 weeks before the day of publication. This is where you start the infrastructure that you need for launch week!

Advance Reader Copies

Advance reader copies are the most crucial investment made prior to the launch. These are sent to book bloggers, Goodreads reviewers, podcasters in your genre, journalists and anyone who shares some of your books’ readership.

During this stage, it pays off to pitch to Canadian book blogs and literary publications, for Canadian writers in particular. Quill & Quire, 49th Shelf, and CBC Books all publish Canadian works and have credibility with Canadian readers. A feature or review in any of these before publication creates pre-launch visibility that advertising can’t easily replicate.

Establishing your Web identity

You want your book to have a landing page that will be able to gather pre-orders and email signups before it’s published. Your email list is much more likely to convert than a cold list of a new audience you acquire through advertising after you launch.

For those who have a professional book marketing service, this is where it helps the most: coordinating ARC distribution, developing your review infrastructure, and strategically timing pitch outreach so coverage falls in the right window before publication.

Launch Week Strategy

It’s not time to start building momentum. It’s time to release it! All the pre-launch efforts are rewarded here.

Coordinated Release Activity

The first week is important because most retail algorithms (Amazon, Kobo, Indigo, etc.) take into account the number of reviews and velocity of sales in the first week.  A book with twenty reviews in its first week is treated differently by those systems than a book with the same twenty reviews accumulated over three months.

Toronto and Canadian Launch Events

The city of Toronto provides great launch infrastructure for those in the Book Publishing Toronto ecosystem, which authors in other centres don’t have. Independent bookstores like Type Books, Another Story, and Ben McNally hold launch events, which result in local press, community involvement and conversations around where to place Indigo.

The Toronto International Festival of Authors is held in October each year and is open to programming pitches. Your book will be linked to one of the most vibrant literary communities in the country when you launch it around TIFA or appear on a panel at the festival.

Post-Launch: Where Most Marketing Falls Apart

The post-launch phase is the phase where the majority of authors remain silent, and that’s a big opportunity that’s lost. Sales do not cease at the end of the launch week. They slow down, but they still continue, and with the appropriate activity, they can be re-accelerated.

Ongoing Review Generation

They will come in naturally after the launch, but can be proactively promoted. Follow up with ARC recipients who haven’t posted yet. Encourage readers to post reviews on social media if they enjoyed the book, and to comment on it. A book with a steady stream of reviews over the past six months is better than one that received all its reviews in one week.

Podcast Appearances

Non-fiction authors and fiction writers with a distinct point of view can make great podcast guests. Sometimes, when you’re in front of a few thousand niche listeners, one appearance is more effective than paid ads.

Content and Long-Tail Search

Year after year, articles, essays and blogs based on themes from your book lead readers to your book. Three or four good-sized articles after the launch will provide additional opportunities for readers to find out about your premise beyond the retail listing.

What Professional Marketing Support Actually Does?

Marketing is NOT a magic sales button. It’s a coordination function that provides the infrastructure, media contacts, and algorithmic timing that authors lack the time to manage. What’s important is that you have access to systems such as ARC networks and review contacts that you may take years to develop on your own.

Marketing accelerates existing momentum; it cannot manufacture interest for a book lacking a defined audience. So the best returns are for authors who come to the table with a book that is ready for book publishing Toronto, a definite audience, and reasonable expectations. If the reader is not there, there is no way of forcing a connection.

FAQs

If I’m self-publishing in Canada, do I need a publicist?

Not necessarily, but somebody needs to do it. If you attempt this on your own, allow for 3 months around launch. Or you can hire a freelance publicist for a project-based campaign, instead of paying a retainer fee.

What’s the right amount to spend on book marketing?

Budget $2,000 to $5,000 CAD for a serious launch. This includes a basic publicist campaign, ARCs and promo. Traditional publishers take care of this for you and you pay them; self-publishing gives you complete freedom, but no budget.

Is social media a book sales channel?

Yes, but only helps in the process it mostly builds long-term visibility. The exception is BookTok and Bookstagram, which have resulted in huge direct sales of fiction, such as romance, thrillers and YA. If you’re writing a non-fiction book, then use it to establish an audience first.

The Bottom Line

Book marketing is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. The key to success is to have anticipation in the lead-up to the launch while also building visibility in the post-launch phase.

Authors who build long-term readerships view each step in pre-preparation for a book, the weeks of launch, and the months after launch as a unified, continuous effort rather than an event.

There’s no shortage of promotion opportunities in Toronto’s vast literary landscape, where robust public infrastructure and a strong community network are present. The big issue is whether you begin early enough to be able to use them effectively.