How do authors move from manuscript to marketing?
- Marketing begins T-180 (six months before publication).
- Runs in parallel with final editing stages.
- Three handoff outputs: metadata, comps, marketing copy.
- Most marketing work derives from manuscript decisions.
- Authors who keep manuscript and marketing in one workspace ship 30-50% faster.
Authors move from manuscript to marketing by treating the launch as a second project that begins T-180 days (six months before publication) and runs in parallel with final editing. The handoff involves transferring metadata from the manuscript to retailer dashboards, building a comp set from the manuscript's positioning, and translating the story into descriptions, keywords, and ARC pitches.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors who treat marketing as "the thing I do after writing" lose 6 months of pre-launch visibility. The smart pattern is to start marketing work in parallel — at T-180, when the manuscript enters final editing — using the manuscript's own content to produce comps, descriptions, and outreach. Splitting these into separate tools wastes the connection.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A T-180 start point for marketing work.
- A comp set built from manuscript positioning.
- A book description derived from the manuscript's hook.
- Keywords matching the manuscript's themes.
- An ARC list assembled from your reader CRM.
- A launch calendar running in parallel with editing.
Chapter iii·Example
A working romance author starts marketing at T-180 while her line editor is still working. She extracts the comp set from her manuscript's voice and audience, drafts the description from her premise, builds keywords from her themes. By T-90 (line edit complete), marketing is at 60% completion. By launch day, she has been working both manuscript and marketing for 6 months. Launch-week sales: 38% above her previous book.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom keeps manuscript and marketing in one project, so the handoff happens inside the same workspace.
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