Free guide for non-fiction authors
Before you launch your book, find out what still needs to happen
Your publisher may be producing and distributing your book. The wider launch can still depend on decisions, assets and activity that sit with you.
The Non-Fiction Book Launch Reality Check helps you identify what is ready, what may have been missed and who needs to own the next step.
Inside, you will find 139 practical checkpoints covering the work before, during and after launch.
- Clarify what your publisher is handling
- Find gaps before they become urgent
- Decide what to keep, delegate or get help with
25 pages · 139 checkpoints · 12 publishing and launch areas
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A strong book launch includes work that sits outside most publishing agreements
Every publishing route divides the work differently.
Your agreement may cover editing, design, production, distribution and selected publicity. The wider campaign also needs content, audience building, partners, media activity, events and a route from the book into your business.
Those responsibilities need to be named. When they are unclear, the author, publisher and suppliers can each assume that somebody else has an important part covered.
Your publisher or provider may cover
Editing, cover design, production, distribution, retailer setup and selected publicity. The exact scope depends on your contract or package.
Your wider launch still needs clear owners for
Audience building, content, email, PR, partnerships, events, campaign coordination and post-launch activity.
You don't know what you don't know until the missing work becomes urgent
It is easy to assume something has been handled until you discover that:
- The book is available, but the retailer page is not helping it sell
- People have offered to support the launch, but nobody has confirmed what they will do or when
- Review copies have gone out too late to support launch week
- Content is being published without a clear route to the book
- The campaign creates attention, but the book does not lead readers towards your business
- Important files, approvals or decisions are still missing when the launch becomes public
Finding these gaps now is not bad news. It gives you the chance to deal with them before they become expensive, stressful or visible to your readers.
Once the right pieces are clear and properly owned, the launch becomes far more enjoyable. You can start seeing the results of the work: the finished cover, the first orders, reader responses, reviews, conversations and new opportunities around the book.
Launch planning gets harder when it is repeatedly pushed behind the manuscript
"Plan the launch" can remain on the list for weeks because the task has no obvious starting point.
The manuscript needs attention. Your publisher is waiting for decisions. The cover needs approving and client work continues.
Then the publication date gets closer and the launch activity arrives all at once.
The Reality Check gives the work clear edges, allowing you to make a first pass and find the sections that need attention without building the whole plan from a blank page.
Partial preview
1. Positioning and audience
- Primary reader defined and evidenced
- Commercial objective agreed
- Competing titles reviewed
2. Publishing and retail setup
- Metadata and categories confirmed
- Formats and pricing agreed
- Retailer pages checked
3. Reader journey
- Route from book into business mapped
- Email capture live
- Next step confirmed
Continues across 12 areas and 139 checkpoints in the full guide.
The Reality Check turns a vague launch plan into a structured first pass
Scan
Work through the 12 launch areas and recognise what applies to your book.
Mark
Record what is complete, underway or still waiting for an owner.
Decide
Choose what needs your input, delegation or specialist support.
You can return to the relevant sections as the book progresses and use the final action page to choose the next milestone.
You will examine whether the book is positioned, purchasable and connected to a reader journey
Is the book positioned to support your goals?
Examine the audience, market, commercial objectives and the role the book should play in your wider business.
Can readers find and buy the right book?
Review the publishing setup, metadata, pricing, formats, distribution and retailer pages surrounding the book.
Is there a route from attention to action?
Check how content, email and campaign assets connect people with the book, including what happens after they read it.
You will finish knowing what needs your input, another owner or specialist support
After your first pass, you will be able to see:
- Where the most important gaps sit
- Which decisions genuinely require your input
- What needs another owner or specialist support
- Whether your current plan and publication date remain realistic
The guide gives you a view of the whole campaign without turning every checkpoint into another personal job.
You can then decide whether to proceed, simplify the campaign, adjust the date or bring in support.
Brandspire has supported more than 100 authors and B2B experts across publishing and launch
The Reality Check was created by Kinga Stabryla, founder and Managing Director of Brandspire, using the experience gathered across the agency's work with non-fiction authors.
Since 2019, Brandspire has supported authors and experts with book positioning, publishing, bestseller campaigns, wider launches and the marketing systems surrounding their books.
Kinga's background in law and quantitative research brings commercial thinking, detailed research and a healthy respect for evidence into the process. She has been featured in publications including Forbes and the Daily Mail.
Brandspire works across the handover points between the author, publisher and marketing campaign. Those are the points where assumptions can create missed deadlines, duplicated work or gaps nobody realised they owned.
The Reality Check contains the questions and checkpoints we would want an author to consider before increasing promotion or assuming the campaign is ready.
"Brandspire connected my book and PR visibility to a sustained authority platform. The launch generated 130,486 LinkedIn impressions, reached 63,384 people and led directly to speaking opportunities and paid bulk book orders."
Daniel RubinAuthor of Sole SurvivorDownload the free Reality Check while there is still time to fix the gaps
Understand where your book stands, what needs attention and who should own the next step.
Free PDF · 25 pages · Created for business and non-fiction authors