Book marketing can be daunting to see as a whole, but breaking it down reveals it to be much more simple than we expect…

The Opening Line: Where to start

Effective book marketing often begins before the pages are sewn into the clothbound cover, since what is a sotry without a platform to uplift it on?
Many publishers expect authors to have a presence among their readers, and that begins with knowing who you book is for. (Beyond just yourself)

The first key step then, is to identify who your reader is. A good tip is to create a profile for them: identify their age, their gender, and their interests. Knowing this will give you a strong foundation of the direction of your written career, and the impact your stories will have.

Signposting: The Do’s and Don’ts

As in all things, there are many ways to do marketing right and wrong for your book. Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

Do:

• Keep your target reader in mind. They are the ones who will find and hopefully love your story. Their enjoyment is just as important as your own so don’t discount them.
• Stay authentic to yourself. Beyond the corporate demands that writing and publishing a book comes with, staying true to yourself in the story, the themes and the message is essential. Readers love an author who is confident, so make sure you also prioritise your own passion.
• Be open to change. Not everything will go exactly as you planned, and that isnt necessarily a bad thing. Be open to constructive criticism and new paths to achieving what you want as this contributes to your overall growth.

Don’t:

• Get tied up in fitting into tropes or cliches. Your story, as you write is, is and can be just as successful even if it breaks conventions and expectations. It can be tempting to walk the road already trodden by other authors for an apparent easy success, but you run the risk of drowning in the oversaturation of those spheres, and disregarding your own individuality.
• Go completely corporate. Your readers want to know you just as much as they want to read and love your story. Don’t lose yourself in exhausting all efforts to sell your book that you forget to engage with your audience on an honest and personal level. It strengthens your community.
• Sell yourself short. Similar to the previous points, trusting your intuition and staying true to your own ideas and creativity is key to success as an author. It’s what makes you stand out, and makes your audience trust you. Disregarding your own interests for a larger reward is never worth it.

Window Shopping: Make Your Cover Stand Out

Striking colours can and often do catch the eye, yes, but if they have nothing to do with the story you have written, reflecting the themes and building intruige into your book, it doesn’t matter how flashy your cover is.

Remember, your cover is part of the story contained within the pages. Don’t overlook how important a strong and relevant cover can be to making your book even more enjoyable for the reader.

As the saying goes…

Bag to Go: Other Ways to Be Remembered

Strong marketing is supported by the community around you. This includes your readers, but also fellow authors who write in the same or similar genres and spheres as you do.

They aren’t your competition, they are your comrades in arms.

Publishing your work isn’t a race, or something you can beat others at doing. Every author is just as passionate about sharing their stories as you are, and allowing as many stories from a myriad of experiences, backgrounds, and ideas, and the more that can be shared makes the whole publishing world a beautiful tapestry of creativity.

Bond with and stregnthen yourself with your fellow authors. The good will of them will last.

Come Again: Earning reader loyalty

Getting all these steps right isnt easy, but it isnt impossible. Everything you do comes together, and can make your presence as an author memorable.

The key to all this is to remain true to your innate creative spark, the thing that makes your story your own. It is crucial that you never lose it, never shortsell it to appease the popular theme of the moment as that will always change.

Your writing, no matter the form or genre, is desperate to be shared, and everything you do in marketing should reflect just how magnificent your mind truly is.