The Future of Book Publicity
By Cyan LeBlanc.
Books are not going away. There are more books being published today than ever before with the birth of self-publishing. Everyone is now a writer because it costs nothing to open a Word document, write a rough draft of an idea, and slap it up on Amazon. As of 2023, there were an average of 11,000 books being released every day.
What does this mean?
Your book could be lost in the abyss of fiction!
Even if your book is great, unique, and of award-winning quality, it doesn't mean it will be seen.
If you want your book to sell, you have to sell it. Even with a publishing house (like Undertaker Books) working to help promote it, success still depends on the author. The tools at our disposal as a publisher are often impersonal: consumers are skimming over ads because we are inundated with them; we've become immune to them and can spot them a mile away.
This is why it is so important for authors to have a presence and a voice for their own books—it lets them connect with readers on a personal level and do things publishing houses can't.
Marketing your books can seem overwhelming, but there are simple steps you can take that will pay big dividends.
PIMPING OUT YOUR BOOK: REVIEWS
I hear so many times that people don't know anyone who can review their book. Any good publisher will provide an ePub and/or PDF version of the book. There are so many booktokers and Instagram reviewers, as well as bloggers, who review books.
All you have to do is ask them.
Most of these reviewers just want a free copy. Don't think it will hurt sales, because most reviewers are not book buyers. They live for ARCs and are hungry for books. Search for hashtags of similar works and don't be afraid to deliver the goods to be noticed.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS A NECESSARY EVIL
While it isn't necessary to be on all social media platforms, it is beneficial to be on at least one. Authors need to have a presence in the online world, and if you are hiding from social media or keeping your social media profiles closed/private, you are doing a disservice to yourself and readers.
If you don't want your real world and your author world to collide, use a pen name. Period. End of story. What's the point of publishing under your real name if you don't want readers to see you dancing at cousin Charlie's wedding? What's the point of publishing under your real name if you don't want Aunt Bessie to know you write about killing people?
If you are going to be a public author, you need to open up the lines of communication between you and the public—and they are on social media. Use it to promote your book on every group page that asks for book recommendations. When someone asks me what they can do to promote their book, I say: join Facebook book groups for your genre (not author ones, but reader ones) and any time someone asks for a recommendation, promote your book.
NEWSLETTERS & WEBSITES: EVERY AUTHOR SHOULD HAVE ONE
Whether you are posting once a month or once a week, an author should be collecting readers. These are the people who like your work. They have read one of your books and are coming back for more. Newsletters are becoming more and more popular, and places like Substack are providing free newsletter options for people that include a website/blog. It costs no money to sign up and very little commitment—again, this is something your publisher cannot do for you.
Readers will come looking for more. They will log on to see what other works you have created and what you are working on now. Staying connected is more important than ever before because, again, you are fighting the 11,000 books that were released today and another 11,000 books that will be released tomorrow. If you don't keep your readers engaged, they will forget about you. All the work you put into selling the first book is now gone and you are starting over from scratch.
There is no reason in 2024 for an author not to have a website. PERIOD.
PODCASTS: THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
With more creator tools available, podcasts are becoming more prevalent. In this day and age, authors need to be willing to put themselves out there to reach untapped markets. Nine times out of ten, podcasters are looking for someone to interview at the same time. It is a mutual benefit and can help you reach readers who might not have known about your book. Podcast episodes are long enough to give life to your story, but also can be short enough if you have limitations.
Search out genre-specific podcasts, offer to send the host an ARC, and ask if they have a spot open to promote it. They might not have known your book exists, but could be willing to take a glance at it to see if it meets their market and listeners—if you approach them (with your best manners, of course).
AUTHOR BRANDING
As an author, you are a brand. Even if you don't want your face plastered all over the interwebs, you have to create a presence and be vocal and present. Let's be honest, it's hard to promote someone who is a ghost. Your name must be out there, even if you want to live behind a cartoon avatar or logo. That is perfectly acceptable. A good sales synopsis will only get so many sales. Sales come from name recognition. If you name is not coming across a screen often, you will not be selling books.
You may be wondering, "why do I have to do all this, isn't this why I have a publisher?"
Well...not exactly.
Working with a publisher is like a marriage: both parties are required to put in the work for a successful book launch. Like we talked about in the beginning, readers want to connect with the author, not the publisher. Working with a press can give you a lot of advantages—we have experience and connections you can use to maximize your book's success. But at the end of the day, no matter how hard your publisher works to promote you and your book, 90% of your success will come from your efforts.