Launch timing

[IW Ferguson]

I'm so close to publishing. Trying to figure out what to do when, and I discovered this page in the KDP Help, https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202173620, about timing. It appears that there are some things to plan for before deciding on a launch day:
1. cover thumbnail might not appear for 3 days
2. look inside might not appear for 7 business days
3. ebook and paperback linked: 2 to 7 days after both versions are live

So, should I tell folks launch day is 7 business days after I'm ready to publish?

[TimothyEllis]

1. I've never not seen a cover when a book goes live. However, a pre-order might not show a cover for a few days after listed, but will before actual release.

2. Look inside normally happens on day 2-3 for me. Nothing at all you can do about it. Like also-boughts and ranks, these things kick in when they get added by Amazon.

3. 2 to 7 days is Amazon's default position on everything. Yes, the linking will likely take 2 days.

You have no control over anything, and it takes 2-5 days for everything to show up on a new book.

Day 1 launch is crucial, and no-one cares if the page hasn't been populated fully yet. You only get 1 day 1, and this is the day when you try to launch to as best a rank as possible, because most of the time, its only down from there.

You want everyone buying on day 1. The rest is not relevant to launching.

I'm not sure what "ready to publish" means. You publish or dont publish. If you dont publish, nothing happens.

Ignore all of this, and submit your book when it is ready to go. Have people primed to start looking for it an hour later, and tell you when they see it. Mail out should be ready to go the moment you have a url.

[plennox]

So, should I tell folks launch day is 7 business days after I'm ready to publish?

Seven days is a looong time to wait. Your ranking will plummet, and you'll lose a lot of potential sales over delays that might happen, but probably won't. At least, not to that extent.

I think those timelines are KDP's "cover their asses" strategy; Tim was right that 2 to 7 days is their default position on everything.

FWIW, here are the timelines I've experienced:

Covers: right away
Paperback to Ebook: 2-3 days
Look Inside: within 2-3 days, with one exception that took 10 (Amazon apologized profusely before I'd even filed a help ticket - very pleasantly surprised on that one!)
Time from Hitting "Publish" to Book Going Live: within 6-18 hours. I get so anxious during this process, I've taken to hitting "Publish" before I go to sleep. The books are usually live when I wake up , so I sleep through my stress 

Anyway, Tim was right: you can't control any of these things, so try not to worry over them. Easier said than done, I know, haha. The important part is getting that ASIN as soon as your book is live, so you can start promos/announcements and get sales coming in.  Congratulations on finishing (or being close to finishing) your book! Fingers crossed for you.

PS: I'm still pretty new myself, so feel free to take my experiences with a grain of salt if you want

[TimothyEllis]

Time from Hitting "Publish" to Book Going Live: within 6-18 hours.

Most of my books are live in about an hour, give or take minutes.

What takes 6-18 hours is getting the email telling you the book is live. Until you get the email, you cant access it on the dashboard, so if you goofed, you cant change it.

But the book is usually live much much quicker than the email.

I start looking about 50 minutes after submitting, and check every 5 minutes until the search pulls it up. Normally 1 to 1.5 hours is the normal for it to appear, and more often than not, one of my fans posts the link before I do.

[WasAnn]

I tried soft launch this last time, which I did because I had a couple of NR ads. I missed 5 days of prime time. I still kept my #1 NR tag for 27 out of 30 days in some huge categories and went to about 1100 in the store, but it would have been more and higher had I not soft launched.

Just do it when you're ready. Zon is almost always faster than their ranges state.

Quick hint: They've gotten faster with NR alerts lately. If you publish your paperback first in order to populate reviews quicker, they'll send it for the paperback and NOT for the ebook, so don't do that.

[IW Ferguson]

Can you translate a few things for me please? What is prime time? NR? soft launch? Still so much to learn! Thanks.

[WasAnn]

Can you translate a few things for me please? What is prime time? NR? soft launch? Still so much to learn! Thanks.

Prime Time for a new book is the first thirty days, which is also NR...new release.

Translation of what I said in the writer code is: I released a book 5 days before the actual launch day that I publicized because others had been experiencing delays in getting their books from pressing the publish button to when it actually published, or they had been getting requests for copyright. Since I booked ads for my new release, which were already set in stone for a certain day, I did a soft launch --which is publishing early just in case there are delays. I had no delays, so it basically had five days out before the date I had promised it or booked ads.

A #1 NR tag mean the number one spot (which gives your book an orange flag) means the #1 New Release in at least one subgenre. I had it in a few big categories, so that was great, but it would have been more and longer had I not wasted those early five days.

[plennox]

Most of my books are live in about an hour, give or take minutes.

What takes 6-18 hours is getting the email telling you the book is live. Until you get the email, you cant access it on the dashboard, so if you goofed, you cant change it.

But the book is usually live much much quicker than the email.

Good to know, thank you!   I've apparently wasted quite a few hours waiting on emails   

 Can you also claim the book on your author profile as soon as that happens?

[NathanBurrows]

Can you translate a few things for me please? What is prime time? NR? soft launch? Still so much to learn! Thanks.

A slightly dated post, but the terminology is the same.

https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/03/your-book-launch-soft-or-hard/