In Hollywood, there’s a pretty set calendar for when movies are released: horror movies are usually released around Halloween, high-concept blockbusters in the summer, Oscar movies start in November, movies that aren’t blockbusters or Oscar contenders in February. Does the book trade follow the same release schedule? The answer is, more or less, yes.
Peak reading and buying season is very much tied to the weather. February and March are generally good times to release a book because the weather’s not great, so people will be stuck inside, browsing the web and looking for something to read. Generally, people won’t want to read a dark book when the sun’s shining.
However, though summer is blockbuster season, it’s also the time when people aren’t locked to their computers, so it makes some sense to release a genre novel in the spring, so momentum can hopefully carry over into the summer (this is what happened with Amanda Hocking, who released books in April before they took off).

Publicity is a great way to get in front of new audiences and introduce yourself. A list of conversation starters makes it easier to move past “I’ve got a book” into more interesting territory. One way to come up with compelling angles is to set up a media calendar so you can craft your pitch around upcoming events. These can include holidays, seasonal events, and other special occasions. After all, the media is already planning to cover them. When you leverage your expertise to speak on one of these, you may include yourself in a conversation they were planning to have anyway.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You’ve followed along with my posts and carefully considered 

Whether you’re just getting started as an author-influencer or you’ve been at it for a while, if you have a budget to spend, there are many ways you can invest in building your audience. While many authors spend years working hard at building their platforms, even a small investment can go a long way in growing your platform and generating book sales.
