Writing the book is half the job. Getting it into readers’ hands is the other half, and it’s the half most writers find hardest. I asked a group of authors what marketing move worked best for them, and their answers are below. The standouts have less to do with clever tactics than with showing up and connecting with real people.
Here are their responses, in their own words.
Jo Ullah
The best thing to promote my book was ARC readers. When I won Kindle Scout my book was released before publication date to readers who had voted for it. Some of those then wrote reviews which were put up with my novel on Amazon with the pre-order info. These reviews made my book hit the ground running.
Website: Jo Ullah
Clare Flynn
It’s always hard to pick one thing but I’m going to say the best thing I’ve done to promote my books is writing the next book. As well as offering a larger body of work, each book can lead readers to the next one, courtesy of back matter. This is true even when you don’t write a series. But it’s not enough to just slap out lots of books. You need to lavish care and attention on each one. Eventually readers will start to recognize what makes your books different and special and you’ll start to create fans. Then when they write to you, always write back. Treat them as valued friends. Last month one new reader worked her way through my entire eight novels reviewing each one in succession. That kind of following is pure gold!
Website: Clare Flynn
Kyle Waller
I’d say the best thing for me in terms of promoting my book is sheerly networking and partnering with fellow individuals who share like-minded goals. For me, this is especially easy with my ambition to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness (as those who also wish to do so are abnormally more so passionate than most people about their goals). Many of the pieces are still being formed, but in time, the exposure from upcoming documentaries and people who’re interested in erasing the stigma who also have extensive marketing experience will prove to be an invaluable asset.
Facebook: Kyle Waller
Mike Sahno
Best thing I’ve done to promote my books: customized blog tour. I reached out to bloggers and reviewers in both the U.S. and U.K. to create a blog tour. It kicked off on my book launch date. The resulting increase in conversions led to my largest spike in e-book sales.
Website: Mike Sahno
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSahno
Alison Morton
I think the best approach to marketing is threefold: persistence, not pestering, being open-minded and flexible and making a plan. You’re not going to please everybody with your wonderful book, so while promoting it, pull back when you’re not getting anywhere and move on to the next step in your plan.
Roma Nova site
Alison Morton’s Writing Blog
Facebook author page
Twitter: @alison_morton
Goodreads
Alison’s Amazon page
Carol Cooper
The best thing I ever did to promote my novels was to build up local interest. This worked best for my second novel, which I named Hampstead Fever, after the part of London in which I live, and where the book is set. Local press covered the launch in Hampstead, and that created demand in local bookshops including Waterstones. From there, I could interest other bookstores further afield, including the flagship Waterstones in Piccadilly, London. It snowballed, and I could get a sought-after front-of-store promotion in WH Smiths travel bookstores.
Blog
Facebook page Carol Cooper’s London Novels
Twitter
Website
James Lawless
I think a physical book launch helped most but it takes a lot of effort. I launched my novel Finding Penelope in a bookshop and the bookshop stocked it, so sales and publicity improved.
Website
Dixie Maria Carlton
You have to tell stories… to get the kind of customers you MOST want to do business with, you need to connect with them, in a way they can fully relate to. This is where sharing the stories of who you are, what you do, and the reason for your why is so important. Ad to that the examples of success experienced by your other customers through case studies and testimonials. Those experiences are the intangible but highest value parts of your brand.
Website
Jean Gill
Five days after release for pre-order, Life After Men, co-written with Karen Charlton, has a #1 tag as an amazon Hot New Release so the question is, what worked best? We drew up a publishing and launch calendar, clarifying who would do what and when. All promotion and publicity worked backwards from the date we would have a final cover, so booking our wonderful cover designer, Jessica Bell, in advance, was vital. Assuming everything is in place re quality, the one factor I’d point to is metadata. It really is worth spending time on categories, keywords and book descriptions, with understanding of how readers search. I emailed amazon.com and amazon.co uk separately with my ten chosen categories and that works much better than the measly two big categories you’re offered in the KDP publishing dashboard! If, like us, you’re publishing ‘wide’, the same principle applies to the different interfaces of each distribution site. Boring but important!
Helen Prochazka
The best thing I’ve done so far is to build relationships with booksellers, the educator’s community and anyone who buys the book directly from me. I’m fortunate that several dozen booksellers around Australia stock The Mathematics Book and if they have any special requests such as a signed copy, I do it. The power of them handselling the book (One bookstore in my home town has sold more than 500 copies of what is a rather unusual book to be their No 1 non-fiction bestseller for almost 3 months. Even Bill Bryson didn’t knock it off!)
Facebook
Website
Read these answers side by side and the individual voices begin to agree. That’s the point of a roundup. No single writer holds the whole answer to what’s the best thing you’ve done to promote your book, but the collected experience of many working writers gets closer than any one of us could alone.
What is the best way to promote a book?
Authors most often credit genuine connection, live events, podcast interviews, building relationships with readers, and consistent effort over time, instead of one-off gimmicks.
Do social media ads sell books?
They can help, but the authors here more often credit personal connection and word of mouth. Ads work best alongside a genuine platform, not as a substitute for one.
How long does book marketing take?
It’s ongoing, not a one-time launch push. The authors who saw results describe sustained, consistent effort over months and years.
