If you are interested in publishing, you might have noticed some repeating trends through the years. For instance, there are more books in the market during Fall. Or there is more marketing advertisement around Christmas. This is due to Publishing Seasons.
Publishing Seasons is how traditional houses organize their different activities, and here we will give you a quick breakdown that will help you understand how the industry cycle works.
Do publishing seasons apply to digital titles?
Before we get into the different publishing seasons, we must clarify that these apply to physical books. If you are an indie author and your catalogue is digital, these won’t affect you. However, it can give you an idea of when readers might be more willing to buy your book.
A Guide to the Publishing Seasons
There are three main seasons in publishing: Spring (March to April), Fall (September to November) and Winter (December to February). Once the editor acquires a manuscript, they assign it to a specific season where they believe the title will have high sales.
Now, you might be wondering what happened with summer. Summer is mainly a dead season in the publishing world, so it is not part of the industry cycle. We will talk more about this below.
Spring (March to April)
This is also known as the conference season. There are a lot of fairs during these months, and usually, no one is on vacation. This is a good time for authors to submit queries because everyone will be in the office.
Keep in mind there are many industry events that agents will attend during the Spring season. This is a great chance to network and expand your contacts.
Summer (May to August)
Even though summer is not a publishing season, we will take a little pause here to explain why. Most industry people travel to book conferences, fairs or networking events during summer. This means response times will be slower, and many people will also go on vacation since children are out of school.
Fall (September to November)
Now, let’s move to Fall. These months are the busiest in the industry. Editors will likely acquire more titles and bring new authors. Fall is also a great time to submit your queries if you want a quick reply.
During this season, many books will also hit the bookstores, which means it is also a great time for sales. Remember that through those last weeks before Thanksgiving, it is important to leave everything ready before the holiday season since this would be another dead zone.
Winter (December to February)
This is a tricky time in the industry since the holidays bring a lot of pros and cons. Some of the cons include slower response times because editors go on vacation. Plus, all publishing houses closing queries.
However, this time is one of the best to increase your book sales. People often buy gifts or start new hobbies for Christmas, New Year, and Valentine’s Day. For this reason, Winter is an excellent season to implement those marketing strategies and get more publicity.
Now that you understand the Publishing Seasons as an author, you can determine the best month to submit your Query and get that contract. As a publishing professional, it will be easier to move into the industry and know how the calendar is divided and which will be the most active work months.