How do authors build a launch calendar?
- Work backwards from publication date in seven T-anchors.
- T-anchors: T-180, T-120, T-90, T-60, T-30, T-0, T+30.
- Each anchor names deliverables, owners, and dates.
- The calendar fits on one page.
- A calendar that isn’t visible isn’t a calendar — keep it pinned somewhere.
Authors build a launch calendar by working backwards from publication date in T-anchors — T-180, T-120, T-90, T-60, T-30, T-0, T+30 — and assigning deliverables to each anchor. Each anchor has named tasks with owners and dates. The result is a one-page document showing every marketing action from pre-launch planning through 30-day post-launch QA.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Launch calendars exist because launches involve dozens of small, time-sensitive tasks. Without a calendar, the tasks compete for attention and the wrong ones win. With one, you know what is overdue this week, what is coming next week, and what is safely scheduled for next month — and slippage becomes visible immediately.
Chapter ii·What to include
- T-180: pre-launch planning starts; set publication date.
- T-120: comp set final, ARC list draft, cover near-final.
- T-90: reviewer outreach begins; ARCs ship.
- T-60: pre-order opens; newsletter and social begin teasing.
- T-30: final retailer setup; ad campaigns tested.
- T-0: launch day push across channels.
- T+30: post-launch QA, review monitoring, metadata refresh.
Chapter iii·Example
A second-time indie author maps her launch calendar in February for an October 15 publication. Every T-anchor has named deliverables. When her cover designer slips at T-120, she sees it in May and reschedules without affecting the launch. Book one and book two had launch-week scrambles; book three lands without one.
WriteLoom’s Market studio plots the launch calendar with T-anchors and assigns owners, so slippage shows months before it becomes a fire.
See the Market studio