What Time of Year is Best to Release Your Book?

Depending on the genre of your book, you’ll find there are some seasonality trends to guide you when it comes to publishing your book.

Timing can play an important role in the success of your book’s release. And while the book publishing industry doesn’t follow an official publishing calendar for specific genres like the movie industry does (For instance, did you know blockbusters get released during the summer for a reason?), there are some seasonality trends that forecast when certain genre types experience higher sales.

The holiday season—Thanksgiving through New Year’s—is an extra busy time of year in book publishing because books make great gifts. Hitting the book season just right as an author though, requires a bit of preplanning.

In this post, we’ll explore the best times to release different types of books and how you can plan ahead to get your book in readers’ hands exactly when they are looking for books in your genre.

Best Time of Year to Release Your Nonfiction Book (Business Books, Devotionals, Memoirs, and Self-Help Books)

For nonfiction books, such as business, devotionals, self-help, and memoir books, the fall is typically the best time to release your book. When temperatures start to dip, readers are more likely to be indoors and some are looking for new skills to learn or hobbies to take up.

Without fail, business, personal growth, and other self-help books rise in popularity in late fall and sales in these genres remain higher well into the new year when people think about and plan their New Year’s resolutions.

Devotionals and biblical commentary books also tend to see an increase in sales around the new year because of the fresh start that comes with the beginning of the year. Many people like to have their new yearly devotional purchased ahead of the new year, so they can crack the spine on January 1. Setting new goals for studying the Bible is also a great resolution for people to make, so ensuring your book is ready and available ahead of time is extremely valuable.

Memoirs do well when published in the fall months since people seem to slow down and have more time on their hands to read. Plus, your life story in book form makes a lovely holiday gift for your closest family and friends.

Releasing your nonfiction book in the fall can be a strategic move for authors because it is often the time when most people are self-reflective, receptive to new ideas, and looking to add new skills and make improvements to their health and well-being. By timing your book’s release with these seasonal trends, you can maximize your chances of reaching your intended audience and generating sales.

Best Time of Year to Release Your Children’s Book

Spring to early summer is a great time to release your children’s book.

Teachers and librarians often review their collections this time of year and look for new books to add to their shelves. By releasing a new children’s book in the spring or early summer, you increase the visibility of your book to those who are in charge of purchasing books for schools and libraries.

Parents are also looking for new books to read to their children during the spring and summer months. With more free time and the desire to keep their children engaged during breaks from school, parents often seek out new books to add to their children’s collections.

Best Time of Year to Release Your Novel

Are you penning the next great American novel? Summer is a great time to release your latest work. That’s because people are often on vacation, enjoying the longer days, and looking for ways to relax. So novel sales naturally see an increase during the summer months.

With more free time during the summer months due to travel or summer work hours, readers often gravitate toward novels that have them dreaming of faraway places, sandy beaches, adventure, and even some suspense. These types of books are entertaining and hard to put down.

Summer is so popular for new novels that a whole sub-genre called “beach reads” came into existence a few years back. These are typically easy-to-read, light content that readers can enjoy on the beach, by the lake, or next to the pool.

Releasing Your Book Around Specific Holidays and Events

If you’re writing a children’s book geared toward a specific holiday—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and so forth—we recommend releasing your book in the months leading up to the holiday of your themed book. This way, you have time to publicize and market your book, schedule book signing events, and even host some book giveaways on Goodreads or your social media accounts.

Writing a political fiction or nonfiction book? It’s best to release those genre types when the issue is a particularly hot button or around election times. This way, your book gains more traction when people are in search of books and other content on a specific political event. 

Publish Your Book This Year!

Our team would love to help you release your book before Christmas this year, so you have plenty of time to market and sell copies of your book well in advance of the holiday season. May is the best time of year to submit your manuscript if you will also be using one of our editorial services, including Manuscript Review, Basic Editing, and Line Editing.

We know May sounds early, but it’s actually just enough time to have your manuscript edited, designed, and available for purchase around November of this year.

Has your manuscript already been edited? Beat the rush later this year by submitting early.

Receive your free publishing guide today!