Leave a Comment:
(20) comments
Thank you for this. I have anxiety so even the thought of marketing can make me terrified. Starting out small is the best way to go and I’ll be following the tips on this article.
Reply
What an interesting concept! I love the imagery of sending your book out into the the woods (a short distance from your house) with a support network in place.
What I struggle with is finding book bloggers. I’ve gone through Google searches in my genre, scheduled book tours, asked around–and I find a lot of sites willing to host a cover reveal or spotlight, but very few that are still doing book reviews. There’s got to be a better way of locating people willing to review a book!
Reply Glad you liked the imagery of sending your book out into the the woods (a short distance from your house) with a support network in place. So that brings to mind, in your case, for your genre, where have your friends gotten reviews? Have you asked in your mailing list? What places close to home (writers community, other authors’ mailing lists) can you request reviews? Not all book bloggers have blogs. Some only post in Instagram or YouTube or Goodreads. Hope some of those ideas will inspire you to ask in new places and maybe in new ways. Here are some more resources: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2015/11/05/how-to-get-reviews-by-beth-barany/.
Reply
What a perspective shift this is! A “support posse”–ONE book blogger (or other outlets) a week–3-step marketing plan (though an example or two of step 3 would help, I guess just asking “what do I want to happen?” is enough. Making it all manageable and keeping it our own (not a single “should” in the post! yay)–love the short, personal, workable ideas here! Thanks!
Reply Kay, I am so glad to hear it. You’re right! An example or two of step 3 would help… Let’s see what I can do…
For my goal, motivation, challenges, and strengths in getting the word out about my science fiction mystery, book 1, that I’ll be uploading tonight to the vendors:
Goal (Inner and outer): Get the word out in fun sustainable ways so that i get get my book in the hands of readers; feel good that I’m taking action; (like: leverage my network through newsletter swaps; guest posts)
Motivation: I need to let this book have an impact and to do that I need to market it.
Conflicts/Challenges: busy brain, ungrounded, self-doubt; too busy feeling; what if no one likes the book? declaring/blocking off time to do the work of marketing
Strengths: I do believe in this book and series; I have experience marketing my fiction; there are readers out there for this book and series. “I can do this!” and I can ask for help! I can think outside the box and take risks.
Hope that helped! It was useful for me, so thanks for asking. LOL
Reply
I love this message of not doing it all, and of listening to our inner wisdom for what to pick!
Reply 
I can totally relate to this. I have a vision of my books and ways to market them but sometimes the ideas just burn out or I can’t capitalize on them. But that belief and feeling in your work is something that keeps us going as writers.
Reply Justin, so glad you can totally relate to this. I hear you about how sometimes the ideas just burn out or you can’t capitalize on them. So true. That happens sometimes to me too. Then I try something else!
Yes, that belief and feeling in our work is something that keeps us going as writers.
Good luck with everything!
Reply
This personalizes the marketing process. I can see myself referring to this again. Thank you.
Reply 
Yes, I’d like to receive “the best publishing industry news and analysis”. Jane Friedman’s posts invariably contain something of value that I can share with other writers on Twitter.
Reply A reassuring post. I believe I had learnt a lot about marketing before my first book was even nearing publication. However when the time came, the enormity of the task seemed daunting. Circumstances have dictated a similar approach to what you describe here, Beth. Thanks for your encouragement to continue in the same vein.
Reply You’re so welcome, Aaron. Overwhelm is real. I’m glad you found strategies to handle the marketing and spread the word about your book.
Reply
I would like concrete marketing advice for beginners, I really would. Review bloggers don’t usually review books unless the author already has a platform – they get hundreds of requests. My book has a dozen 4&5-star Amazon reviews, 25 on Goodreads (ave 4.5) achieved organically but not one reviewer site will look at it. They never even write back.
Your link to “Doable plan and take action” is another blog post with not one marketing idea except to say “brainstorm your marketing ideas.”
Getting a guest blog spot on a popular website is a great way to market your books, for sure. Not trying to be snarky. Writers who are selling books have a built-in audience. What about writers who are starting out?
Hi Sally,
I sense your frustration. I felt the exact same way starting out! If you read through the myriad of posts here on my site, check out my BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge (which I wrote exactly for the reasons you state), attend my free weekly #BookMarketingChat each week, look at the #NaNoProMo tab here on my site, or read my Medium posts, you’ll find a plethora of practical tips and advice you can put into place right now.
As far as connecting with book bloggers, there’s a fab piece here on my site by Girl Who Reads (Donna Huber). Read that. Also, follow @sugarbeatbc on Twitter, aka Bakerview Consulting on Facebook. She’s written BOOKS on working with book bloggers. She’s a frequent guest on my #BookMarketingChat.
Reply