The book you’ve been working on for a long long time is finally completed. So, what is the next step? Isn’t it weird how people don’t talk much about the time after the book’s completion, when it’s looking into an abyss of the lost, waiting to be bought or taken or found or discovered…
Okay, so the word we’re looking for is ‘marketing’. When writers hear this word, they often have a strong negative reaction almost like they’re allergic. And in a perfectly real world we all know that so many writers go unnoticed like a dot on the sky and it’s clearly not because they write bad books or they are poor writers, but because nobody knows their books exist. The point is that anybody can write the best book in the world, but without a book marketing plan, nobody’s going to know it is available. Need a book marketing plan that actually sells books? Let’s chat!
Who is going to read your book?
Harsh question right but heres the thing most writers give me some vague answer like everyone who likes fiction and that’s completely useless your readers arent just random people who happen to read books theyre real humans with specific problems keeping them up at 3am quirky interests that make them binge certain podcasts and particular reading habits that matter more than you think they hang out in specific corners of the internet have strong opinions about folded and creased pages versus fancy bookmarks and probably have a very particular type of book sitting on their nightstand right now the weirder and more specific you get about who these people actually are the better your book marketing plan is going to work I am not even kidding about this
What are the established authors doing?
Remember high school? Unfortunately, well turns out some things never change… it still pays to watch whats working I am talking about the authors in your genre who are actually selling books and making real money stalk them online but like in a totally normal way follow their social media sign up for thier newsletters hang out in their facebook groups see how they talk to thier readers what gets people all excited and commenting where theyre spending their time dont just copy everything they do thats wierd and people notice but pay attention to whats actually working for them why make this harder than it has to be when someones already figured it out.
Got anything interesting to say?
Can you explain your book in one sentence without boring people to death? If not, your book marketing plan is already failing before it starts. You need a hook that makes people actually want to know more, not a ten minute ramble about your entire plot and writing process. Practice it until you can say it in your sleep then test it on real people. If they lean forward and ask questions you nailed it. If they suddenly need to check their phone or grab another drink then you need to start over because your book marketing plan won’t work without a solid hook that grabs attention.
What is your goal?
Your book marketing plan needs goals that don’t suck. Most writers either aim too low like “sell some books” or go completely crazy with “sell a million copies by next month.” You need that sweet spot where your goals are scary but not totally impossible. Instead of “do some publicity” aim for “get on these 3 specific podcasts.” Instead of “start a newsletter” try “build an email list of 1000 actual fans who care about my book.” Term them by name, make them measurable and make it just scary enough that you actually have to work at them. Write these objectives down and place them where you can see them daily since a book marketing plan without actual objectives is merely wishful thinking that will still not sell any books
Which marketing tactics don’t make you cringe?
Lets be real here your book marketing plan will only work if you actually do the marketing and you wont do marketing that makes you want to hide under a rock. If making videos makes you break out in hives then don’t start a YouTube channel just because some guru told you to. If you love talking to people then maybe podcasts are perfect for you instead of forcing yourself to write blog posts that put you to sleep. If you get excited about teaching people stuff then workshops and online courses could be your thing. If you actually enjoy writing short helpful articles then guest posting might work way better than trying to build a massive social media following.
The point is your book marketing plan needs to match who you actualy are not who you think you should be. Marketing that fits your personality and strengths will always beat some perfect strategy you never follow through on because it feels wrong. Figure out what you can do consistently without wanting to quit after a week because consistency beats perfection every single time when it comes to making your book marketing plan actually work and sell books.
Are you short on content ideas?
Content creation is like feeding a monster that never gets full and nothing makes you look more amateur than posting three times in one day then disappearing for two weeks straight. Your book marketing plan needs a system or youll burn out fast. Smart authors figure this out early and create content buckets ahead of time so they always have something to post. Fill those buckets with behind the scenes stuff from your writing process, little known facts about your books, topic connections between whats happening in the news and your themes, personal stories that actually shaped how you think about things and practical tips that show off what you know.
The secret is to batch all this material during those times when your brain is busy and save it to be pulled out on those occasions when you feel like cold oatmeal and cant think of something worth saying. This type of preparation will always form part of a good book marketing plan because being consistent is always more important than creativity as far as getting your readers increasingly interested and actually purchasing your books is concerned.
Why aren’t strangers praising your book yet?
Your book marketing plan needs reviews because readers dont trust you, they trust other readers. You require reviews to obtain readers, however, you require readers to obtain reviews hence here is what you do. Search up bloggers and people who review your genre and avoid the well-known ones, as they are overwhelmed by requests. Attack the ardent mid level reviewers and target them on a one on one basis no cut and paste rubbish. Send the free copies and request the unbiased reviews nothing more. Stop being strange about it, just hand them the book and leave them to do their stuff. Your book marketing plan will not work without reviews since people must have social proof before they can make purchases of your book.
How much cash will this marketing adventure cost?
Your book marketing plan is going to cost money so stop pretending it wont. The good news is you dont need to go broke doing it. You need a decent book cover and please dont make it yourself unless you actually know design. Youll need a website hosting an email service and some money for advertising tests but start small. Factor in promotional copies, contest prizes and maybe some basic design tools. Create a list of what is necessary now and what can be put off to later. All these marketing costs are not optional in the event you hope that people notice and buy your book but at least you can juggle them without draining your bank account provided you are smart enough.
The Conclusion
Here’s what nobody tells new authors, marketing isn’t some evil thing that takes you away from real writing, it’s literally how your words reach actual people. Every successful author has a book marketing plan whether they admit it or not and the ones who claim they don’t do marketing either have publishers handling it or they’re lying to you. Your writing should find its audience who will be too late reading your chapters and recommending your book to their friends with the words you must read this. Your readers are ready, somewhere out there waiting to get your book but they are not going to miraculously discover you by chance. The marketing plan that you have on your book is what links your writing with the people who are going to need to read it so start getting into it and plan how you intend to put your book in front of actual readers.
