Top 4 Promotion Tips for Novelists

Publishing
Avatar of Pat BertramBy Pat Bertram
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Promotion Tips for Novelists

Promotion Tips for Novelists

I don’t generally give advice to other novelists about book promotion since so many authors are better at selling books than I am, but if I had to, I’d tell them to have patience, stamina, and a willingness to give up part of their writing time for promotion.

Unless a writer has the benefit of a major publisher’s publicity department, and sometimes even then, he/she will have to spend time promoting their book. It’s not enough to have a blog dedicated to self-promotion or to add thousands of friends on Facebook.

Writing articles and commenting

You have to give people something to get something — write interesting articles, comment on articles others write, and get to know your Facebook connections. Most importantly, check out Book Marketing Floozy.  It’s an indexed blog with how-to articles on every facet of promotion.

Here are some responses from other authors about the advice they would give to other novelists about book promotion:

From an interview with Debra Purdy Kong, Author of “The Opposite of Dark”

I’d advise writers to use patience and not expect too much immediately. Promotion means engaging with others and building a rapport with potential readers. It means creating a solid, long-term platform through social networking, blogging, and website design. It can seem daunting, but if you limit your time each day, you won’t risk burnout. And burnout is a significant factor for writers who are also actively promoting!

From an interview with Joylene Nowell Butler, Author of “Broken but not Dead”

If you’ve gone through all the trouble of writing, revising, and querying, why not market? Why not spend hours blogging, visiting other blogs, and connecting with like-minded writers? I’m still astonished when authors tell me they don’t have time to blog, and they certainly don’t have time to visit other blogs.

They want to fill your inbox with news about their book and why you must buy it. They’re targeting the wrong people. Writers write, and readers buy books. Yet how many emails do you receive in a week telling you why you should buy their book?

Online Presence

Promotion is about creating a presence online. But it’s also about getting out and doing readings, signing copies, writing-related articles, doing online, radio, and newspaper interviews, and joining evening events where the opportunity to read arises. It’s about fairs, bazaars, contests, giveaways, and anything else you think will put you and your book in the public eye.

  • Book festivals are goldmines: Events like book fairs and literary festivals can be fantastic platforms for networking and visibility. A novelist’s interaction with readers creates a lasting impression.
  • Social media campaigns reign supreme: Authors who use clever hashtags, challenges, and creative content often engage new audiences. For example, the #BookTok trend on TikTok has catapulted several novels to fame.
  • Collaborative cross-promotion: Many novelists collaborate with other authors to promote each other’s books. Joint giveaways or shared newsletters can reach broader audiences.
  • Small towns have significant opportunities: As mentioned on the page, small villages and community-focused events often welcome the chance to host writers, giving authors a unique way to connect.

What about you? What advice would you give other novelists about book promotion tips?

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Avatar of Pat Bertram
Pat Bertram

After the death of her life mate/soul mate in 2010, Pat Bertram used her blog—bertramsblog.com—to write about the experience of grief. Along the way she received and replied to thousands of comments and emails from readers who have also lost a loved one, and in the process came to the conclusion that much of the orthodoxy surrounding grief is simply wrong. GRIEF: THE INSIDE STORY -- A GUIDE TO SURVIVING THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE debunks many of the myths surrounding grief and offers a clear and practical alternative to the usual platitudes. Pat is also the author of GRIEF: THE GREAT YEARNING, a memoir about her experiences of the first year of grief, and UNFINISHED, a novel about a widow who discovers that her beloved husband had many secrets.

In addition to her grief works, Pat has written five suspense novels, MADAME ZEEZEE’S NIGHTMARE, LIGHT BRINGER, DAUGHTER AM I, MORE DEATHS THAN ONE, and A SPARK OF HEAVENLY FIRE.

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1 Comment
  1. Avatar of Paula Boer
    Paula Boer says

    I agree that marketing is an important part of any writer’s life these days. It is a hard slog, and hard to see results. If sales do eventuate, it can be hard to know what it was that worked. Maybe a little bit of everything? As you say, it is all about creating a presence.

    What a lot of people don’t understand is the difference between marketing (getting you and your books known to the right audience) and selling (saying ‘buy, buy, buy’). There is a lot in the commercial arena that covers the difference, not specifically related to writing, that applies just as well to apples or cars as it does to books. It is this difference that people need to understand before they embark on their promotion adventure.

    Use marketing as an opportunity for research, or fun – if you live in a city, get out into the country to small towns. They are often keen for an excuse for an event. Small newspapers are great too, always looking for a new story.

    So don’t think of it as a chore. See it as an excuse for doing something new.

    Reply
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