Self-Publishing Timeline with Createspace

Downhill · Sep 25, 2014

Hey Everyone,

I am planning on self-publishing through CreateSpace November 1st of this year. My question has to do with algorithms and book sales, specifically related to the day of book release.

I am unable to find specific information regarding launch strategies on Amazon through CreateSpace. I understand that if you sell a certain amount of books within a certain amount of time, you can show up on more people's feeds on Amazon, possibly making your way to #1 (or whatever ranking you are aspiring towards) within your specific genre.

My question is this: is there a specific timeline/window immediately following your release date on Amazon where if sales reach a specific number then Amazon begins to promote you?

I ask this mainly because I am struggling to decide if I should make my book go live sooner, even though I may not have things lined up promotionally until weeks later --- or, wait until everything is set, in the hopes of hitting that magical number (i.e. books sold, reviews, etc.) that Amazon uses to begin actively promoting your book. Also, I would prefer to order books directly from Amazon and then use those as giveaways for reviewers/bloggers, though once having done that, the book is now "live."

Thanks so much for any insight.

J. Tanner · Sep 25, 2014

Downhill said:
My question is this: is there a specific timeline/window immediately following your release date on Amazon where if sales reach a specific number then Amazon begins to promote you?

No. At least, not that anyone outside Amazon knows about. The first 30 days are slightly more important, because that's how long you last on the new release list. The stars are most aligned in your favor at that point, but generally new self publishers are not successful in that period. It's a slow build up of your catalog and readership until some future release has enough built-in demand that you can capitalize on such things.

I ask this mainly because I am struggling to decide if I should make my book go live sooner, even though I may not have things lined up promotionally until weeks later --- or, wait until everything is set, in the hopes of hitting that magical number (i.e. books sold, reviews, etc.) that Amazon uses to begin actively promoting your book.

In my experience, that's sort of like worrying about which yacht you'll buy because you're going to play the lottery later this week.

That said, uploading (soft launch) the book about a week prior to your "official" launch is best practice. It can be quick as 24 hours when you've got all your ducks in a row, but your first upload might reveal some problem, and you don't want to be left without some buffer time even at the expense of some potentially higher visibility time on new releases.

Also, I would prefer to order books directly from Amazon and then use those as giveaways for reviewers/bloggers, though once having done that, the book is now "live."

You can order books through CreateSpace for this use without making the book visible on Amazon.

Laer Carroll · Sep 26, 2014

I use CS only for completeness. Very few of my books sell that way. So far most people buy the ebooks, most from Amazon, few from B&N, none from Apple.

Personal copies cost less than those for publication. It cost me $5.50 plus postage for a 116,000 word book.

Self-Publishing Timeline with Createspace

Downhill

One word at a time

J. Tanner

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer