Per book publicist Nicole Baker, it's never too early or too late to think about book publicity and marketing, but the ideal timing is to start planning at least 2 months prior to your book's release. If you choose to do a publicity campaign with a publicist, these typically last 3 or 4 months once your book is released. Baker loves when her author clients are still in the editorial phase of their book or are still developing their covers or other marketing materials. This allows her to provide valuable input on comparable book titles and target audience. There are those times when she has clients assigned to her only 1 week out from their book's release, so she has to work quickly to start building some awareness and interest in the book. In addition, she does work with authors that have already published their book, but the preference is to start any publicity efforts prior to release. Baker emphasizes that the publicist/author relationship is a partnership, and the author plays a very important role. She encourages her author clients to start building a presence online, practice your marketing messages and presentations, and be media ready. The writing often continues for her authors beyond the book with requests for guest articles, blog posts, and commentaries, and the turnaround times can be quite short for media opportunities.