By: Marissa Bañez
Congratulations on getting your book published!
Now, get to work!
If, like me, you signed with a small publishing house, you must do almost everything to market, publicize, advertise, and sell your book to get it read. Nothing about it is glamorous. All of it is time-consuming, frequently disappointing, soul-sucking, and expensive. You must become shameless and relentless at self-promotion, leaving you with bouts of imposters’ syndrome and self-doubt, not to mention less financially secure. The modern-day author’s life isn’t for the faint-hearted or starry-eyed idealist.
Here are a few things to consider:
Take advantage of your publisher’s free offerings, like posting on their social media using some marketing lingo. Publishers often get discounts on promotional/marketing deals, but they’re still hundreds of dollars each.
Enter “book award” programs at around $70/entry, plus copies of the book.
Do book fairs but the fees and expenses may not be recouped.
Visit/call independent bookstores. However, most small bookstores buy only a few copies wholesale from Ingram at about 30-40% discount, with the right to return. Some may agree to carry on consignment but will take 40-60% of sales.
Do readings at bookstores, libraries, and schools. Getting approval could be difficult. Once approved, publicize the event through traditional and social media, flyers, word-of-mouth, etc., and market the book through give-aways, raffles, and a book sale/signing during the reading.
Find bloggers and other reviewers. You may be asked for a physical copy of the book, book copies and/or a gift card ($10-$50) for a giveaway contest, etc.
Contact traditional and social media to try to get publicity.
Talk to everyone you encounter about your book and enlist everyone to do the same. This may require giving away free copies.
Join/form an author group to swap marketing ideas. Note, however, that some of them may be competing against you in the same genre and you’ll have to deal with all the emotional and psychological ups and downs inherent in any competition.
I don’t mean to discourage anyone from writing and publishing their ideas. But I also don’t want writers to believe in the false hope popularized by the movie Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come” – i.e., “If you publish it, they will read.” In truth, if you do nothing more than just publish, chances are they will not read. If you want to reach readers beyond your family and friends, doing nothing is simply not an option. Of course, neither book sales nor increased readership can be guaranteed no matter what you do but doing nothing ensures no book sales and no readership.
Marissa Bañez is a lawyer and author of the children’s illustrated book, Hope and Fortune. Her second book, Hues and Harmony (How the Rainbow Butterfly Got Her Colors) will be published on July 20, 2023.