Now Amazon has added scheduling for paperback and hardcover for authors self-publishing their books!
Amazon KDP scheduling added for paperback and hardcover book releases! If you haven’t heard already, Amazon KDP now allows authors to schedule paperback and hardcover releases up to 90 days in the future. On the 3rd of October, 2023, Amazon KDP emailed all authors already using their self-publishing platform, informing them of the new beta program.
Don’t get confused, though. This isn’t the same as the pre-order function, which allows you to schedule your Kindle ebooks for pre-order.
Let’s look at the latest Amazon KDP announcement and how it could benefit Canadian self-published authors. If you’ve already published your book, you’ve missed out, but this feature could be a massive benefit if you have an upcoming book project!
If you have an Author Marketing Plan, this new pre-release feature could be perfect! Do you need assistance with self-publishing your book on Amazon KDP? Then don’t hesitate to contact us at Indie Publishing Group today!
Should You Release Your Paperback Book Now or Later?
As of the 3rd of October 2023, Amazon KDP authors will now be able to schedule both their paperback and hardcover book releases up to 90 days in the future. You can choose any date pre-release between 5 and 90 days from when you upload your manuscript.
So, what does this mean for authors? What are the benefits of being able to schedule when their book goes live on the Amazon platform? Let’s look at the new pre-release function and if it’s something you, as an author, should be paying closer attention to.
How Does Amazon’s New Scheduling Tool Benefit Self-Published Authors?
In the past, when you uploaded a new book to Amazon KDP, once it was approved by Amazon, it immediately went live on the platform. This meant that within a few hours, customers could potentially buy your book.
While this is great, it didn’t give authors any opportunity to make last-minute changes before customers could potentially buy their book.
Let’s check out how the Amazon KDP tool allows authors to schedule paperback and hardcover books that could potentially benefit you as an author:
- The new pre-release tool will allow you to release your book in conjunction with your author marketing plan. If you haven’t created an author marketing plan, then check out this article on the Essentials of An Author Marketing Plan to see why they’re so important.
- You won’t have to log in, upload, and try to time when your paperback or hardcover book goes live anymore. Now, you can upload, proof, and have everything ready for the day your book is released.
- The new pre-release feature allows you to fix any mistakes before your book goes live and potentially being purchased by customers or readers.
How Does the New Amazon Paperback and Hardcover Scheduling Tool Work?
In the following section, I’ll walk you through the steps on how to use the new Amazon KDP paperback and scheduling tool:
Step 1. Choose if you want your book to go live immediately or schedule it for a later release.
Step 2. Choose which date you want your book to go live, between 5 and 90 days.
Step 3. When you have chosen the release date, you still have the ability to go back in and edit when your book is released up until six days before your scheduled release date.
Amazon KDP Scheduling Added for Paperback and Hardcover Books – Conclusion
With the added benefits of pre-scheduling your book release on Amazon KDP, self-published authors now have much more control over their book release and marketing plan. It’s a great feature, and hopefully, in the future, we’ll see the ability to pre-order paperbacks like you can with ebooks.
It’s good to see that Amazon is listening to authors and taking positive steps to streamline the self-publishing process. Love them or hate them, what would be do without Amazon?
At Indie Publishing Group, we’re proud to assist Canadian and North American authors in self-publishing their work. If you are in the process of writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, or uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.
Our experienced and professional self-publishing team is standing by to assist you with your self-publishing dreams.
Do you have any additional ebook formatting questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us directly! One of our friendly and professional team members will get back to you ASAP!
