Review: The Writer’s Book Launch Guide by Keely Brooke Keith

Short, but to the point

This is a short book, because it’s one that is meant to be acted upon rather than just read (in fact, there is an accompanying Writer’s Book Launch Journal for tracking the details of your book launch plan).

But while it might be short on words, it’s not short on ideas … or timing. The author recommends writers begin planning their book launch a full year before the launch of their first book, by establishing (or updating) their author website. This might scare off some authors, but it makes sense. Couples planning for a new baby (especially a first baby) start planning months before the birth (I certainly did. We needed a new place to live and a new car to start with, and those things don’t just happen). The same is true of a book launch. As this book makes clear,

The weakness of this Guide is that it doesn’t go into sufficient detail in some areas. For example, many aspiring authors know they should have a website, but what kind? Blogger, Weebly, Wix or Wordpress? Self-hosted or not? What does that even mean? What are the relative advantages of Hootsuite vs. TweetDeck vs Buffer?

This is where the guide could have done with more detail. However, the author rightly says that a lot of this information changes, and there is already a huge amount of information available.

One thing I particularly liked (and that other debut authors could learn from) is her recommendation that authors start finding potential book reviewers nine months before their launch day. As a book reviewer, I agree. I’m often approached by authors wanting reviews for their book which releases next week (or if they’re planning ahead, next month). Few authors realise how quickly our reviewing schedules can fill up!

Not all authors will want to undertake every activity (*cough* podcasting *cough*). But the list is a starting point, and it’s up to the author/reader to decide what is going to work best for them and their book.

There is also an accompanying Writer's Book Launch Journal (paperback only), for tracking all the details of your upcoming launch.


Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

If you'd like to find out more about Keely Brooke Keith, visit her website, or pay a visit to Christian Editing Services tomorrow, where Keely will be my guest as she discusses the basics of launching a book.