Preparing for Your Book Launch While You’re Still Writing

Sell the book before it exists. Build the foundation while no one’s watching.

You don’t need a launch plan. You need a system. One that works in the background, grows with you, and doesn’t collapse the moment life gets in the way. You need visibility that builds over time. And the best moment to start is right now, while the book is still in progress.

Most first-time authors don’t do this. They wait until the manuscript is done or nearly done before thinking about readers. They set a deadline, announce a date, and hope the audience will appear just in time. That is when the panic starts. The forums fill with questions. How do I get reviews? Should I buy ads? Is it too late to start a newsletter?

The problem isn’t that they didn’t care. It’s that they didn’t give themselves enough time.

What actually works is starting early, even when everything feels rough and unfinished. Choose a single scene, or a teaser chapter, and release it somewhere that gives you useful information. Not Wattpad. Not your blog. Use a tool like BookFunnel or StoryOrigin, and ask for an email in return. Now you’ve created something trackable. You know who is clicking, who is reading, and who is actually interested.

Once you have that teaser in place, test it. Not to “build buzz,” but to learn what works. Spend five or ten dollars and run a basic ad. On Facebook or Instagram, you can target readers who follow certain authors or read specific genres. On TikTok, if you’ve already started posting, boost your best-performing video using Spark Ads. If you’re comfortable on Reddit, post your teaser in a genre thread and watch the responses. Not all feedback will be kind, but every comment tells you something about your hook, your tone, or your readers’ expectations.

You’re not trying to go viral. You’re paying attention to what pulls people in.

From those early clicks, you can build your short list. These are not ARC readers. Not yet. This is your test team. The people who showed up when all you had was a draft and a teaser. Track who opened the link. Track who replied. Track who ghosted. You are not asking for critique or in-depth notes. You are filtering for reliability and interest. These are the readers who will get your first launch email, your first exclusive bonus, or your first pre-release copy. You don’t need hundreds. Ten people who follow through are worth more than a hundred who sign up and never respond.

Now that you’ve got some readers, you’ll want a way to reach more. This is where most writers start fiddling with Canva and lose a week designing quote cards. Don’t go there yet. You don’t need an entire suite of branded graphics. You need three visual assets that work hard and last.

Start with a teaser hook. This could be a sharp line of dialogue, a one-sentence summary, or a vibe-heavy teaser. It should grab attention and link directly to your preview. Something like, “He lied to the world to protect her. She’s about to burn it down anyway.” Post it as a static image, a short video, or a captioned reel. Make it genre-specific and give it a call to action.

Next, show a behind-the-scenes moment. Readers want more than just polished prose. They want a glimpse into how the book came to life. Record a quick video of your writing space. Share a photo of your plot wall. Post your playlist or your current struggle with Chapter Six. These are the posts that build connection. You don’t have to be perfect. You have to be real.

Finally, create a genre anchor. One visual or short-form post that tells people exactly what kind of book you are writing. This is not about saying “sci-fi” or “romantic thriller.” It is about showing it. Dystopian stories should feel tense, sterile, or surveilled. Romance should carry emotional weight, chemistry, or longing. Fantasy should hint at myth, magic, or mystery. When someone asks what kind of book this is, this is what you show them.

Once these assets exist, you can tweak and reuse them. Change the color. Shorten the caption. Rotate them across platforms. What matters is that they reflect your voice and your world. They don’t need to be perfect. They need to be consistent.

And while you’re building content for readers, make one piece that speaks to other authors. Something honest, funny, or relatable. Writing is a small world. Other authors notice. One reel, one post, one shared frustration can lead to newsletter swaps, blurbs, and long-term connections that reach far beyond your first launch.

You’ve got a teaser. You’ve got content that speaks for your book. You’ve got a short list of readers who are paying attention. So now what?

Now you map your pre-orders. Not your deadline. Not your dream launch day. Your actual sales path.

Let’s say your goal is fifty preorders. That’s not a moonshot. That’s a solid foundation. Not enough to retire on, but enough to show up in algorithms and give your launch a pulse. Break that goal into parts. Maybe twenty will come from your email list. Ten from the readers who downloaded your teaser. Ten people who found you through a giveaway or promo post. Ten more from cross-promotion or author friends who feature your book.

If you can’t see where those numbers are coming from, you are not ready to launch. The problem isn’t that your book isn’t done. The problem is that the path to readers is still unclear. Publishing it will not solve that. You have to build that path before the book goes live.

Every teaser. Every email. Every behind-the-scenes video or reply to a reader comment is laying the foundation for your launch. When you can look at what you’ve built and trace a clear line from those pieces to your pre-order goal, then you can pick a date. Not because it’s done, but because it’s ready.

And when that day comes, you won’t be starting from zero. You’ll have an audience that’s already familiar with your story. A small group of readers who’ve shown up more than once. Graphics and short-form content that have been circulating online. Bonus material that makes people feel like insiders. Not strangers. Not passersby. Readers.

This is not a soft launch. This is traction. You earned it by starting early, testing honestly, and building slowly while no one was watching.

And the best part? It didn’t start when you hit publish. It started while you were still writing.