# The book launch email sequence: what to send and when

> The emails every author should send before and after a book launch, with timing for each, and which ones can be set up once and run on their own.

Canonical: https://adeolaforgehq.com/guides/book-launch-email-sequence/
Last updated: 2026-10-25

Published: 2026-10-25 — 7 min read — Service: [n8n and Make.com automation](https://adeolaforgehq.com/services/n8n-make-automation/)

Most authors send one email on launch day and hope. The readers who would have bought in the first week are spread across a month, and one email catches very few of them.

A launch sequence fixes that. It's a set of emails, each with one job, sent on fixed dates. Most of them can be written once and scheduled, so launch week is about the book, not your inbox.

## Before you start

You need three things:

- **An email tool.** MailerLite, Kit and Mailchimp all work and all have a free plan for small lists.
- **A signup form on your site,** on the home page and on the book page.
- **A reason to sign up.** A free first chapter, a bonus story or a short guide. This is called a reader magnet, and it's why people join.

## The welcome emails, for every new reader

These go to every new subscriber, whenever they join. Set them up once.

1. **Day 0, the free chapter.** Deliver what they signed up for, and say in two lines who you are.
2. **Day 3, the story behind the book.** Why you wrote it. This is the email readers reply to.
3. **Day 7, the buy link.** Every format and every store, in one place.

## The launch emails

4. **30 days before: pre-orders are open.** The cover, the date and the link. Pre-orders count toward launch week on most stores.
5. **21 days before: advance copies.** If you use early readers, send their copies now and tell them when you'd like a review.
6. **7 days before: the reminder.** Short. The date, the cover, the link. Many readers need to see it twice.
7. **Launch day: it's out.** Thank your readers, give the link, and ask early readers to post their review today.
8. **7 days after: the review ask.** Readers who bought have now read some of it. A short, friendly ask with direct links to each store's review page.

After that, a **30 day note** with a teaser for the next book keeps the list warm, so the next launch doesn't start from zero.

## What runs on its own

Everything above except the launch day email can be scheduled in advance. The welcome emails run forever once they're set up. The launch emails are scheduled to the dates you pick.

With a small automation behind them, two more things can run on their own:

- **Advance reader signups.** Readers apply through a form, receive the book automatically, and get a reminder on launch day. Everything is tracked in one sheet.
- **Review requests after purchase.** If you sell from your own site, buyers get the review ask seven days after they buy, not on a date you guessed.

## Common mistakes

- **Sending only on launch day.** Most of your list won't open that one email.
- **Asking for three things in one email.** One email, one job.
- **No reason to sign up.** "Join my newsletter" gets very few signups. "Read chapter one free" gets far more.
- **Writing every launch from scratch.** Keep the sequence, change the book.

If you want this set up for you, we build launch sequences and the automations behind them as part of our [work for authors](/authors/), on your own email tool. The free audit includes a launch automation map with every email and its date.

Related: [why your author website does not show up on Google](/guides/author-website-not-showing-on-google/) and [the author website checklist](/guides/author-website-checklist/).