Five Reasons Why Books Release on Tuesday–Does That Include Indie Authors?

Because it’s always been done this way. (?)

Oh really?! Why? Retailers call it Super Tuesday.

But Tuesday…Maybe it is just not as hectic as the first day of the week. Nor is it Friday when everyone is ready to flee to weekend outings. Tuesday is not yet Hump Day, not generally a payday, and very rarely a holiday. So why is it that I started having a problem with overlapping release dates–Tuesday–after I started receiving books from NetGalley?

Most sources, including Bob Mayer (one of my favorite authors), speculated it might be (1) because of the NY Times best-seller lists (and this seems to be a generally accepted opinion). “The NYT bestseller list is based on sales from Tuesday to Monday, tallied on Wednesday. The list for the following Sunday is actually compiled by the prior Wednesday evening.”

So what else are we looking at? 

• “If a Tuesday release is selling well, there still is time to order more before the weekend.”
• “Consumers know when to look for new releases.” (But why was Tuesday decided on in the first place?)
• “Consolidating the releases to one day greatly reduces the costs to the distributor.” (Still doesn’t explain why it has to be a Tuesday.)
• Tuesday is traditionally the lowest sales day of the week (?Huh? Super Tuesday?), so popular new releases boost otherwise weak sales. (Ah ha!)

Admittedly, these are those books published by big-box publishers with both proven records and authors. (There are a high percentage of books that don’t have any release date.) However, books aren’t the only media industry stuck on Tuesdays, as movies, CD’s, DVD’s, music, and games tend to be released on the same schedule.

What about independent authors? Does the release of a major, anticipated book constitute a conflict with an Indie author?

Maybe

Sunday or Monday is deemed the best time to release a self-published novel, according to what “they” say in industry data, with the best days of the month between the 7^th and the 14^th.

Of course, there are some very obvious times of the year for a best release time of certain genres: Romantic novels near Valentine’s Day, light and easy cozy reads in the spring, adventure/outdoor venues in the summer, scary/horror books near Halloween, cold season venues in the fall or near the holidays.

Now, Goodreads:

I love Goodreads! There is almost nothing you can’t find on Goodreads from a list of your own books to the Top 200 books published in April 2018 that people have added. (Generated weekly-Mar 11, 2018 03:01PM) And by the way, I saw no books from the Esquire list below.) The first ten are all scheduled for release on a Tuesday, the tenth and twenty-fourth being the most popular, with April 3rd coming in third. No releases on April 17th? (What’s up with that?)

Also, find the Most Popular Books Published In March 2018 (No books from Esquire list.) Listed as #10, Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney released (Tuesday) March 13, 2018.

Of the ten best books (so far) listed by Esquire.com, every single one has or is being released on a Tuesday: 

1. A Long Way From Home By Peter Carey
2. An American Marriage By Tayari Jones
3. Feel Free By Zadie Smith
4. Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humananism, And Progress By Steven Pinker (On the NYT Best-Seller ending 3/25 for combined print and ebook, non-fiction.)
5. Back Talk By Danielle Lazarin
6. The Wisdom Of Wolves: Lessons From The Sawtooth Pack By Jim & Jamie Dutcher
7. Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang By Lamont “U-God” Hawkins
8. The Gunners By Rebecca Kaufman
9. Laura & Emma By Kate Greathead
10. Census By Jesse Ball

Is your head swimming yet? Don’t quote me on these lists as they tend to change rather frequently. I see many of the books from NetGalley on Goodreads and if I need a heads up, will look for my next choice there.

If you are an author, have you released on a Tuesday? If you are a reader/reviewer, have you (like myself) been caught when more than one review is due on the same date? (Fortunately, most reviews can be posted prior to release date but must set your calendar to go back for the review on Amazon.) Have you bumped up against the Tuesday release date? ©2018 V Williams (Attributions: Bookcase from Canva, Spy Icon by Colourbox)