The timeline for marketing and promotion differs from press to press. Your publisher will likely ask you to complete a marketing questionnaire while preparing your manuscript for production or after it’s been transmitted for production. This questionnaire solicits author input on a range of marketing-related topics, including advertising, review copies, and blurbs. As the book moves closer to publication, marketing/sales staff will use information in the questionnaire to plan metadata, social media, publicity, sales, advertising, exhibits, and awards.
The seasonal catalogue, announcing the publication date for your book, is distributed digitally (and, at some publishing houses, in print) while the book is still in production. Prior to publication, your book description and cover will be uploaded to commercial websites as well as to the university press website. The press may also promote your book on social media platforms, and most encourage authors to send the marketing department any news or events relating to the book, so that the press can share that information on their platforms.
Book reviews for trade books generally appear within a few months of the publication date, while scholarly journals and magazines typically take longer, with reviews appearing from six months to two years after the book has been published. Most university presses will continue to market and promote a book for many years after the publication date by keeping the book available on their website, taking the book to academic conferences at which they exhibit, and ensuring that the book is for sale at online vendors as well as through independent bookstores.
As a final point, it’s never too early for the author to start thinking about marketing and promotional opportunities and potential for your book—even before it’s contracted. Information about your social media presence, newsletter subscribers, professional association presence, and network of supporters makes the editor’s job of pitching books for contracting easier. Likewise, ideas you may have about promotional opportunities (i.e., book events, media appearances, etc.) help in this area. Specifically, it gives marketing/sales staff an immediate idea of the book’s potential from the jump. Even if you don’t have an established platform or experience promoting your books, expressing a willingness to learn and do will mean a lot to your publisher. Remember that your book proposal shouldn’t just sell the book, it should also sell the publisher on the idea of working with you
—AUPresses Faculty Outreach Committee