Valuable insights from people who’ve done it
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on UnsplashAs a writer, don’t you think life would have been so easy if all you needed to do was write?
This isn’t true, especially if you are a self-published writer who’s just brought their new ebook out in front of the world.
According to Bowker’s report on Self-Publishing in the United States, 2013–2018, “The total number of print and ebooks that were self-published in 2018 was 1.68 million in the U.S.”
That means a staggering 4,500+ books were released each day.
And this includes only self-published books in the U.S. It doesn’t account for the thousands of books published by publishing houses in the other 190+ other countries across the globe.
In such an overflowing market, what can authors do to make sure their books attract the right audience?
To answer this and other questions helpful to the writing community, I started a Space on Quora where I conduct interviews with published authors with the aim of creating a place for them to share their experiences in the writing, publishing, and marketing businesses. It features a new author every few days with an exciting set of questions featuring their struggles and success stories.
One of my favorite questions that I ask each author I interview is: “what is a book marketing trick you learned the hard way?”
In this article, I have combined the incredible book marketing and promotion lessons I learned from two successful authors from India and abroad.
1. Social Media Can Be a Powerful Tool
Tamara Whitlow is a writer and a mother of two from Columbus, Ohio. Her first book Worth the Wait was widely appreciated by readers for the heart-warming plot and intensely relatable characters. Her second book, Finding N, has garnered some fantastic reviews from readers all over the world. In her own words, Tamara wants people to get hope from her books, a way of making the worst situations possible to get through.
When I asked her what was one tip she would like to share on how to connect with an international audience, here is what she had to say:
“I stay on social media!
Stay interactive with everyone and support others.
You are more well-received when people feel that you are not just looking out for yourself. Twitter and Instagram are places where I meet a lot of my international readers.”
Of course, an author needs to have a strong social media presence and powerful personal branding. Then again, it is essential to take care that not all content sounds self-promotional, and they have to engage other members of the community as well.
It is a delicate balance, but as authors, this is something we have to learn.
2. You Are the Face of Your Book
Mohit Garg works for American Express. He’s been working for a few years and never liked it, but he has always wanted to be a writer or photographer. He published his first book, Lives of Vulnerable Entities, almost a year back.
This is what Mohit had to share when asked about the book marketing trick he learned the hard way:
“Some people on social media might be very helpful while others can be a waste of time and money. So, it’s extremely important to plan and spend time to figure out a day-wise structure to follow.
Or, if you have the money, you can hire a marketing team to do the work. Most importantly, take your work forward to people yourself. You are the face of your book, the more hard work you do, the more fruitful the outcome would be.”
It is possible for writers to outsource marketing as well as invest in paid reviews. Here is something interesting Mohit added:
“Paid reviews are a bad thing. I came across people who were ready to put multiple reviews in less than INR 100 ($1,33). I didn’t want to invest because I wanted to keep things real. I wanted to know what people genuinely felt about the book.
So, if you come across people who do paid reviews, please don’t go with it. Even if you do, ask them to be fair to you and your work. Honest reviews will help you more in the long run compared to paid sugarcoating.”
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