How do you coordinate a launch with retailers?
- Five core retailers for indies: KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, B&N Press.
- Each retailer requires different metadata field formats.
- Pre-orders typically open at all retailers in the same week.
- KDP allows free books; Apple and Kobo prefer paid.
- Retailer setup takes 1-2 weeks for a first-time author across all five.
You coordinate a launch with retailers by setting up accounts at each retailer (KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Press) by T-60, uploading manuscript files and metadata, opening pre-orders by T-30, and confirming all five are live with consistent pricing by T-7. Each retailer requires different metadata field formats; consistency starts at the source.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Authors who only publish on Amazon leave 20-40% of potential sales on the table. Coordinating across the five core retailers takes 1-2 weeks of setup work once and provides ongoing distribution to readers who don’t buy on Amazon (Apple, Kobo are large markets internationally; B&N is the main alternative US ebook retailer).
Chapter ii·What to include
- KDP (Amazon): both ebook and print.
- IngramSpark: expanded print distribution to bookstores and libraries.
- Apple Books: ebook only.
- Kobo Writing Life: ebook only.
- Barnes & Noble Press: ebook and limited print.
- A canonical metadata sheet copy-pasted into each retailer.
Chapter iii·Example
A self-publishing author sets up all five retailers in week T-60 — two days for KDP and IngramSpark (where she has accounts from book one), two days for Apple, Kobo, and B&N. She uploads ebook files, opens pre-orders at $2.99, and confirms by T-30 that all five show pre-order pages. Launch day all five process orders simultaneously.
Chapter iv·Related questions
In WriteLoom
A launch plan, not a launch day
WriteLoom’s Sell studio holds the canonical metadata sheet and tracks retailer setup status across all five channels.
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