Prepare the launch materials
Create an endorsement and contributor follow-up plan
Plan how you will ask for endorsements, chase them politely, thank the people who gave them, and keep contributors informed, so the relationships outlast the launch.
Authors often hire help with this: publicity or marketing, design or production.
Why it matters
Endorsements are among the few pieces of launch material that other people control, so they need lead time and a system. Contributors who feel forgotten do not help with the next book; contributors who are kept informed become the book's most reliable amplifiers. Neither happens by accident during a launch.
Your part
- What you do
- Do it. You normally do this yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and Publicist. Author asks and thanks; editor or publicist may request some endorsements
- When
- 3 to 6 months before publication for endorsements; contributor follow-up continues through launch (Prepare the launch materials: six to three months before publication, before the first pitch goes out)
How to do it
The full walkthrough
An endorsement (a blurb, in trade terms) is a short quote from another author or an expert, used on the cover, in the metadata, and in the media kit. Contributors are the people who helped make the book: interviewees, sources, foreword writers, illustrators, the people you thanked in the acknowledgments. Both groups need a plan, because both are easy to neglect once the book is out.
For endorsements, the plan covers who to ask (people whose readers overlap with yours and who have a reason to say yes), when (early enough that the quote can reach the cover, which usually means months before publication), how (a short personal request with the manuscript or a galley), and the follow-up (one polite reminder, then a graceful exit). Record who was asked, when, and what happened.
Traditionally published authors usually work with the editor on the endorsement list; the publisher may make some requests itself. Hybrid and self-published authors do all of it, and should be sparing: three good endorsements are worth more than ten generic ones.
For contributors, the plan is simpler: tell them when the book is out, send a copy where appropriate, thank them publicly if they are comfortable with that, and let them know when their part of the book gets attention.
Common mistakes
- Asking for endorsements after the cover has gone to press.
- Sending a form request to a long list of famous names.
- Editing an endorsement without the endorser's approval.
- Forgetting to send the promised copy to the person who gave you three hours of interview time.
What done looks like
- A list of endorsement candidates with the reason each fits, agreed with the editor where there is one.
- Requests sent with the manuscript or galley at least 4 months before publication, with the publisher's blurb deadline noted.
- One follow-up per request, recorded, and a thank-you for every yes and every no.
- Endorsements collected with the exact approved wording and the endorser's preferred credit line.
- A contributor list with a note of what each was promised (a copy, a mention, a link) and when it was delivered.
Ask your publisher
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Sources and last checked
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