Black Friday is 20 days away. If you plan an ebook deal for that weekend, each piece of it has its own lead time: the KDP Countdown Deal, the promo sites and the other stores. This post puts them on one sheet, like our one-page file deadline list, but for promos.

The lesson: write down the date each piece must be done by, then circle the earliest one.

Written Word Media's holiday guide (27 October) lists Black Friday on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November.

All pages below were checked on 7 November 2026. The dates in bold are worked out by us from each rule. They are not dates any of these sites publish.

Kindle Countdown Deal

KDP's Countdown Deals page sets these rules:

  • "Title has been enrolled in KDP Select for at least 30 days."
  • "Digital list price is unchanged for 30 days before and 14 days after your Kindle Countdown Deal runs."
  • Deals "must be scheduled 24 hours before your desired start date". KDP's own example is stricter: for a 10 January start, schedule "any time before January 8".
  • "Kindle Countdown Deals are limited to one per KDP Select term."
  • Deals run on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk only.

Counted back for a deal starting Friday 27 November:

  • Ebook in KDP Select since 28 October or earlier.
  • List price unchanged since 28 October. If you changed it after that, a Countdown Deal on 27 November is not open to you.
  • Schedule it by Wednesday 25 November.
  • If the deal ends 30 November, leave the list price alone until 14 December.

If you lower the price by hand instead, KDP's timings differ for ebook and print. Our post on when to change a holiday price covers both.

BookBub Featured Deal

BookBub's support page (updated 13 May 2026) says: "We can schedule Featured Deals up to 60 days in advance". Selection takes "two to three business days". Its requirements page asks for a book "Free or discounted by at least 50%" and will not consider one "offered for a better price in the last 30 days".

  • Submit as soon as you can. Being picked is not guaranteed, and you need time for a plan B.

Written Word Media

Its email promo page says the team "will review your submitted feature within three days". The holiday guide adds: "Written Word Media promotions often sell out during this time." You can cancel for a full refund up to "3 business days before the promotion is scheduled to run".

  • Book this week, and allow three days for review.

The Fussy Librarian

The Fussy Librarian publishes no fixed lead time. Its help page says to schedule "as early as possible", because "Popular genres and dates often fill weeks or even months in advance." For bargain promos, your discounted price should begin "before your scheduled promotion date".

Apple Books

Apple's holiday schedule (14 October) says: "Make sure to submit any important content, pricing changes, or clearance changes by the respective deadlines." The table goes by release date. The row before Black Friday is 23 November, with a delivery date of 9 November.

  • Our reading: send an Apple price change by Monday 9 November.

Your sheet

  1. Write 27 November at the top.
  2. Add one line per piece above, with its date.
  3. If a date is already past and you did not meet it, that option is closed for Black Friday.
  4. Circle the earliest date left. If your ebook is on Apple, that will be 9 November.

If you also sell signed paperbacks for Christmas, our author copies post covers the ordering dates.