Your Publishing Timeline for Writing a Christmas Novel

Getting your book published can always be a difficult and confusing process – but not with help from the right people. In this blog post we’re going to lay out your timeline for writing and publishing a Christmas novel, as well as point you in the right direction to some friendly faces who will be able to give you a helping hand! 
 

• August

In terms of your publishing timeline, we would suggest that your novel is finished by roughly around the end of August. This may seem early for a Christmas novel, but it’s important to give yourself lots of time to get sorted before launch! You don’t want to delay your publication process – and feeling prepared in good time is a great way to ensure you don’t.  
 

• First half of September

This time period is when you want to start getting in contact with the right people and finding the best team to aid you in refining your work before publication. This will be the time for meticulous editing and redrafting until the manuscript is polished and perfected; as tempting as it is, don’t make the mistake of thinking your submitted draft will be your final draft too! You always need some fresh perspective and an objective eye to make sure your manuscript’s the best it possibly can be. Here at Rowanvale we offer a comprehensive selection of pre-publication services including Proofreading and Copy-Editing, Beta Readers, and a one-to-one Writing Advisor package to ensure your book is sparkling and seamless before you start to think about publishing. 

• Second half of September

Next up is your book cover! Despite the old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, cover design is actually an absolutely crucial part of your publishing process and will undoubtedly have an impact on sales. Think carefully about what you want your cover to portray, the tone and the meaning of it: do you want to portray the more classic aesthetics of Christmas on the cover, such as traditional reds and golds; or if your novel subverts certain festive conventions, do you want to play with and challenge those aesthetics, and perhaps avoid them completely? These are the questions to ask yourself during this period! At Rowanvale we offer a Custom Book Cover Design Service to tailor your perfect book cover and ensure you’re happy with how your novel is being presented to the world. 
 

• By the end of September

So essentially by the end of the month your novel should be perfected, your book cover design should be ready and you yourself should be prepared for publication. This is when you should start thinking about the nitty gritty of publication – whether it will be paperback, hardback or Ebook, and crucially, who you want to facilitate it. Rowanvale has a team of fantastic Publishing Advisors to help you formulate this plan and understand the ins and outs of the publication process. It doesn’t have to be such a scary prospect with our help! 

• October

Once your book has been meticulously crafted and every rough edge smoothed out, October is the month to start rallying in terms of promotion and marketing. Begin a social media campaign to arouse interest for the upcoming publication. Try and get reviews generated by book blogs, other authors, magazines, newspapers or other literary journals. Get involved with podcasts and radio shows. Try and get featured by literary blogs to rile up some excitement. The possibilities are endless here!  
 

• November

November should be launch day! Research shows that Christmas shopping for the public typically starts in mid-November so you absolutely want to capitalise on this period; whether it’s hardback, paperback or Ebook, you want to have your novel published and out in the world by about mid-November so you’re riding this surge of Christmas consumerism.  
 
If you have any questions about publishing, here at Rowanvale we have a range of talented and helpful Publishing Advisors ready to see to your every need, so feel free to get in touch with any queries! And if you’re now ready to start thinking about post-publication marketing, please see our handy How to Market Your Novels at Christmas blog post, where we’ve laid out the next steps for you.