Checklist category
Your Publishing Plan
Settle who is publishing this book and who does what. Your route (traditional, hybrid, or self-published) decides which steps are yours, which belong to a publisher, and which are a shared job. Name the people you will be emailing, read what the agreement says about marketing, copyright, metadata, and submissions, list every edition you plan, and put every real date on one calendar.
The tasks in Your Publishing Plan
2 tasks, 7 steps
Decide who is publishing the book
5 stepsYou know which route you are publishing on, who does what, and what your agreement actually obliges each side to do. Every later step in this checklist reads differently depending on this answer.
CoreAs soon as the contract is signed, or the decision to publish is madeAuthor and Publisher and AgentYou normally do this yourself.Legal or contract
Map every edition and release date
2 stepsYou have a written list of every edition and format you plan to publish, each with its own official publication date. Deadlines, identifiers, and listings all hang off these dates.
CoreTwelve to six months before publication, and again whenever a format is addedAuthor and PublisherSomeone else may do it. Inspect the result yourself.
Common questions
Why does my publishing route change the checklist?
Most steps have an owner. On a traditional route a publisher usually handles ISBNs, metadata feeds, and trade review submissions, and your job is to ask and to check. Self-published, the same steps are yours to do. Hybrid sits in between, and the only reliable answer is in your agreement.
From Decide who is publishing the book.
I have not signed anything yet. Is this too early?
No. Knowing who is responsible for marketing copy, metadata, copyright registration, and review submissions is one of the most useful things to read for before you sign, not after.
From Decide who is publishing the book.
What if I cannot tell who my contacts are?
Ask your editor for the names and the best address for each of the editorial, publicity, marketing, sales, and rights roles. Record them once. Most later delays come from not knowing who to email.
From Decide who is publishing the book.
Why does each format need its own date?
An ebook, a hardcover, and an audiobook often publish on different days, and each one has its own identifier, its own listing, and its own review deadlines. One date for the whole book hides work that is actually due earlier.
From Map every edition and release date.
I only know the month. What should I record?
Record the month, and say so. A real month is more useful than a made-up day, and nothing here should call you late for a day nobody promised.
From Map every edition and release date.