The Social Media Refuseniks Guide to Book Marketing

(Please note: this post appeared on my Substack (lindaph, which no longer exists) in about 2020; an earlier version existed on my original blog from 2012).

101 Handy Hints to help you market and sell your book without resorting to big tech!

It would be fair to say that for most authors the act of writing books is the bit they enjoy most. By contrast, the bit most of us find frustrating is the amount of time and effort it takes to get our work in front of a paying audience.

This is the case for all writers whether published traditionally (which in the ideal world would consist of a publisher loving your book enough to give you an obscene advance and then paying a handsome royalty for every single copy sold so you can swan off and lie on a beach contemplating the next blockbuster), or whether you are like the vast majority these days, self-published.

In most cases and by that, I mean the 99.9999999% of cases, it is only by digging your hands deep into the compost of marketing that your work will ever see the light of day on more than a handful of bookcases around the globe.

The sad fact is that even in the world of traditional publishing there is little done in the way of marketing for new authors. You must be the next JK Rowling to score even a modicum of support, and even when you do it may be a single, lonely publicist looking after a list of possibly hundreds of books at a time.

To help you get started I’ve put together an updated version of a blog post I originally created back in 2012. Here is where you’ll find 101 ideas to get you started on a decent marketing plan. Not all will be relevant to every writer, so pick out those you think will help you get where you want to go. The difference between this post and the original is that back then I was still enthralled by social media, Google and Amazon. That thrall has worn off and my rose-tinted glasses have been replaced with decent contact lenses. It is not true that to be successful you have to use social media, Amazon or Google. It is true, you will need to use some technology. I am not averse to technology, simply the overreach of the big tech giants!

The Writing Shed for Subscribers

In January, I am launching a brand new subscribers-only section of The Writing Shed. Members of the writing groups I’m starting will also be offered membership, as will paid subscribers of my substack Woman on the Edge of Reality. There will be regular masterclasses focusing on how to make the most of your writing as well as adding the background to each of the items on my list below.

The List

Please note: Over time, this list may change because that’s the nature of the medium we work with and the technological milieu we live in.

1. Work out who is going to buy your book
2. Find out where your audience hangs out
3. Set an objective
4. Create a marketing plan for your book
5. Find out the difference between your readers and advocates
6. Set a budget for your marketing activities
7. Find some beta readers
8. Add an About the Author page to your book
9. Make sure you ask for reviews from within your books
10. Add a list of other books you have written or contributed to at the end of each book
11. Don’t just use one Print on Demand provider
12. Create a book excerpt
13. Create a set of teasers
14. Create a set of book club notes
15. Create, build and develop your author’s blog or website
16. Create a free download that introduces your style to a new set of readers
17. Make sure people can contact you
18. Create a monthly newsletter about your work and online activities
19. Create and deliver a regular activity for your audience
20. Use keyword analysis to create focused blog posts, articles and updates that you know people want to read
21. Create a book trailer
22. Create the perfect author or writer business card
23. Have a set of postcards about your book printed
24. Get a set of greeting cards printed with illustrations
25. Create an A5 book information flyer for booksellers
26. Organise a competition to gather support from those who already know you
27. Sell your book on your own website
28. Sell your book in multiple outlets
29. Add your book to Etsy
30. Create and sell your eBook in multiple online stores
31. Build word of mouth
32. Offer advance copies for review to fans of your previous work
33. Start a book tour
34. Offer bloggers free copies and/or interviews
35. Set up a series of speaking engagements at local events about your topic
36. Have your book reviewed by book bloggers
37. Put together a set of local contacts for the press
38. Send a press release, free copy, and photograph to your local paper/s
39. Send a press release, free copy, and photograph to your local radio station
40. Offer a review copy to your local book review journalists
41. Become a local book reviewer
42. Offer a review copy to relevant journalists
43. Donate copies to libraries
44. Link your book to a cause
45. Donate your book to relevant organisations or charities
46. Leave copies in bookshops, cafes and venues
47. Provide free copies to your local doctor’s surgery or dentist waiting room
48. Use Eventbrite to promote your events
49. Keep a calendar of events that you can use to promote your book
50. Take part in writing competitions
51. Use webinars to speak with a broader audience
52. Rent a stall at the next relevant fair in your local area
53. Ask your local coffee shop, bar, or pub if you can do a book reading
54. Offer to host a book reading in your local library
55. Offer a free writing event during the school holiday
56. Offer to guest lecture in colleges and universities
57. Contact local businesses to present to them if the work is relevant
58. Set up a flash mob
59. Set up a series of impromptu readings in unusual places
60. Attend and take part in poetry readings
61. Attend and take part in comedy club events
62. Offer yourself as a speaker to the local WI
63. Write a regular press release about events you are taking part in
64. Create videos and presentations about themes you cover in your book
65. Join BookCrossing.com
66. Create an account on LibraryThing
67. Search for active readers’ forums to take part in
68. Write flash fiction if you are a novelist
69. Ask your readers for feedback
70. Record a podcast of your opening chapters
71. Ensure your book is enrolled in any preview systems that booksellers use
72. Add your book to The Book Marketing Network
73. Send your news to Writing Magazine if you’re a subscriber
74. Investigate WattPad
75. Add your free books to Project Guttenberg
76. In the UK? Use We Buy Books
77. Investigate and use Scribd
78. Join Issuu
79. Add your video trailers to Vimeo
80. Connect with other Authors online (they are often readers too)
81. Offer free e-copies of your book for specified time periods
82. Have some merchandise made up that you can give away
83. Contact tourist information if your book has a local interest
84. Set up workshops and courses on the themes and topics of your book/writing
85. Offer to do book readings in local schools
86. Get yourself on a podcast interview or two
87. Volunteer in a writing competition as a judge or reader
88. Edit a local literary journal
89. Offer yourself as a writer in residence
90. Go networking
91. Start or join a writing group
92. Write a letter to The Times with fun or interesting facts and information
93. Contribute to online and regular magazines
94. Writers Forum magazine
95. At the checkout
96. Contact Gardners and Waterstones
97. Set up an auction of original drawings and get some prints made of any illustrations
98. Adapt chapters or small sections of your book for alternative audiences
99. Create an audio version of your book
100. Get your work translated into other languages, then rinse and repeat all the hints and tips
101. Say thank you regularly.

(Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay)