Thirty days. That’s all you’ve got.

Do it wrong, and you’re toast. Do it right, and it’s crème brûlée that will last for months, maybe even years. 

What 30 days are we talking about? The first 30 days after you make your book available to the world. 

During the first 30-60 days after your release, bookstores decide whether to keep your book on the shelves. If you have a strong launch, bookstores will continue to stock your book and order more copies. If you have a bad launch, even the books you think you sold will be returned unsold. 

Only during the first 30 days post-release can you earn the #1 New Release badge on Amazon. For those first 30 days, readers won’t judge you for not having reviews. 

As you can see, your book’s first 30 days will determine its success. So how can you set yourself up for success? You conduct a strong book launch. 

Are book launches still important in 2023? 

Let me answer with a metaphor. An airplane uses half its fuel climbing to cruising altitude and the other half flying to its destination. Planes ascend to 30,000 feet, using half the fuel in ten minutes. They use the remaining half of the fuel over the next five hours. If you don’t get to cruising altitude quickly, your trip does not end well.

An author’s 10-minute ascent, which requires a lot of fuel and work, is the first 30 days after a book is released. That first month is when bookstores decide whether to order more books. It’s when readers see whether anyone has reviewed your book. It’s when radio shows, TV shows, podcasts, and blogs are willing to interview you about your book. It’s when the word-of-mouth buzz spreads fast.

Even if you’re traditionally published, you’re expected to know how to launch a book and play a significant role in executing your publisher’s marketing plan.

If you’re publishing as an indie, knowing how to launch a book is an absolute necessity. It’s not optional. If you want to sell more than 15 copies of your book, you must learn how to attract attention to yourself and your book and get yourself to cruising altitude. 

In this overview, we’ll hit the highlights of our annual course Book Launch Blueprint. Even if you don’t take the course (we’d love to have you!), you’ll learn principles and ideas you can apply to give your book the best chance for success. 

<figure class="wp-block-image"></figure>

Book Launch Blueprint 6.0

We’ve hosted the Book Launch Blueprint for six years, and each year we’ve updated the course and made improvements. We’ve also learned several main reasons authors love the course. 

What has made the course so popular?

Cohort Model

Unlike my other courses, which are self-paced, the Book Launch Blueprint takes students through each day’s content together. All students are in a community where they encourage each other and give feedback on that day’s homework. 

Daily Homework

Each day you are building your own book launch plan. At the end of the 28-day course, you’ll have a customized plan for how to launch a book. We provide cooking classes and the pantry, so you can develop the perfect launch recipe for your book. 

Mix of Polished Training and Live Q&A 

Each morning, you’ll get a prerecorded video and a homework assignment. Later in the day, either Thomas or Jim will host live office hours to answer your questions. By the end of the day, you’ll know the material and how to apply it to your book. 

The Course Works! 

Authors who complete the Book Launch Blueprint and put it into practice have significantly better launches than those who don’t. The course often pays for itself in boosted book sales. It is fun to hear students report on which bestseller statuses they hit in the subsequent months. Check out past student testimonials at Book Launch Blueprint.

It’s Inspiring, Encouraging, and Rich With Material

Students commonly go through the course again in the following years because they enjoyed it so much the first time. Course graduates who take the course for a second or third time often share insights and examples of what worked and what didn’t. You can tap into their experiences and learn from them. In a sense, you’ll get instruction from Jim and me, as well as our alumni.

Community

In our private, online community, you can brainstorm with other former and current students. After the course concludes, you’ll still have access to the community with all its past and recent threads and conversations.

Buy Once, Keep Forever

Once you purchase this course, you have it forever. As an alumnus, you’ll automatically receive access to all future upgrades, updates, and improvements. Every session is recorded, so you can return to specific topics at any time. Our alumni sometimes even join us for our live office hours. 

Encouragement, Encouragement, Encouragement

Writing, publishing, and launching a book is not easy; but our students have been highly supportive of each other. While we can’t guarantee that, the odds are good that your fellow students will also be supportive. 

The Downside You Need to Know About

The reality is that this course isn’t for everyone. It’s not for hobbyists. The Book Launch Blueprint is for serious authors. It requires a serious commitment of time and emotional energy.

Time Commitment

We encourage students to set aside at least two hours per day to watch the core lesson video, do the homework, and interact with fellow students in our private community and on the live office hours call.

Live office hours last for a couple of hours each day. While attendance is optional, you’ll find tremendous value in having your specific questions answered. You don’t have to stay for the entire time, but Jim and I tend to stick around until every question has been answered. 

The more time you can devote to applying the course material and interacting with the community, the more value you will get from the course.

Course Overview

Each module of the four-week course is based on a weekly theme.

• Week 1: Ready





• Week 2: Set





• Week 3: Go





• Week 4: Run

<figure class="wp-block-image"></figure>

We provide videos that present the material clearly, and then we follow up with interactive office hours when you can get your questions answered. 

You’ll get a video lesson and homework assignment on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Office hours will be held each day at various times to accommodate students in other time zones. 

On Wednesdays, you’ll have a catch-up day; and Jim and I will host office hours together. You’ll have no new assignments or videos on Wednesdays. 

You may also notice that the sessions below are offered in pairs. The first session in the couplet offers big-picture instruction on a topic, while the second session digs into the nitty-gritty details.

Week 1: Ready

Monday: Session #1 How to Sell Yourself

If you feel guilty promoting your book, your book launch will fail. All the book promotion techniques in the world won’t help you if, deep down, you feel like a bad person for promoting your book. You must believe your book will improve your readers’ lives through entertainment, education, or escape. Everything else in your book launch plan depends on your mindset about promotion.

Tuesday: Session #2 Branding 

If you don’t know who you are as a writer, your reader won’t be able to tell either. Your brand must be apparent in your writing, website, and books. We will help you discover your brand.

The term brand can put people off, but it’s really just a modern word for the ancient concept of reputation or “having a name.” You’ve already been building a reputation, and now it’s time to do it with purpose and intention. (Fair warning: There is a lot of homework for the branding session.)

Wednesday: Break and Catch-Up

Wednesdays will always be a day to catch up on homework or videos. During regular, daily office hours, we limit questions to the day’s topic. But on Wednesdays, you