Summary

An author humorously laments the challenges of book marketing, detailing a comprehensive list of strategies they've been advised to follow, from setting clear goals to seeking professional marketing help, while expressing the difficulties and frustrations faced in the process.

Abstract

The author of a historical novel set in 1960s Barcelona shares their struggle with book marketing, a task they find more daunting than writing the book itself. Despite following common advice—such as setting clear goals, utilizing online platforms, building an email list, networking, soliciting book reviews, guest blogging, engaging with the audience, considering paid advertising, participating in local events, collaborating with other authors, and persisting despite setbacks—the author finds the process overwhelming and often at odds with their personal inclinations. They express a sense of irony and futility in their marketing efforts, which include daily social media activity, reaching out to book influencers, and even appearing on TalkTv, all while juggling a day job, freelance work, and personal life.

Opinions

The author is skeptical about the effectiveness of book marketing strategies, finding them more challenging than anticipated.
They express frustration with the time-consuming nature of marketing and its impact on their ego and finances.
The author is cynical about the utility of email lists and guest blogging, especially since they don't consider themselves an expert.
They admit to a personal preference for psychological thrillers over their own book's genre, which hinders their enthusiasm for audience engagement.
The author has had mixed experiences with paid advertising, finding it addictive but also a financial strain.
They face geographical and language barriers in promoting their English book in Barcelona.
The author acknowledges the potential benefits of networking and collaborations but also points out the competitive nature and envy among authors.
They reveal a reliance on CBD oil to cope with the stress of marketing and admit to considering professional medical help.
Despite the challenges, the author remains persistent in their marketing efforts, albeit with a sense of irony and limited time due to other responsibilities.

The Secret to Book Marketing!

Everyone told me that marketing a book can be a challenging and frustrating process and that it’s common for authors to find the marketing aspect of their work to be more difficult and time-consuming than they anticipated. But, effective marketing is crucial for getting your book noticed by potential readers.

Tell me something I don’t know!! It’s like pulling teeth, but more painful, on both my delicate author-y ego and my rapidly dwindling bank account.

This is what I was told –

1) Set Clear Goals: Define what you want to achieve with your book marketing efforts.

Erm, sell my books to a million people and win the Booker Prize. That’s it, I’m not asking for the world.

2) Use Online Platforms: Leverage social media platforms, author websites, and blogs to promote your book.

Riiight, I do all that every single day. Does sharing what I had for my tea count? Or posting memes?

3) Build an Email List to keep readers up to date on your progress.

Okaaay, so send memes and tell them about all my fab ‘ideas’ for a new book? And by ‘them’, I mean the four friends that have signed up for my newsletter. I hate receiving newsletters from authors, and I usually delete without opening them. I don’t want to read about their next 10 planned books and literary success when I’m making no progress with mine. Ffs.

4) Networking: Connect with other authors, readers, and industry professionals to build relationships and gain exposure within the writing and publishing community.

Already doing that! You can’t get me off social media. Yesterday I put some eggs on to boil. An hour later, I heard a pop and remembered. And yes, before you ask, I DO take my phone into the bathroom.

5) Book Reviews: Reach out to book bloggers, reviewers, and literary influencers for potential reviews and features. Positive reviews can significantly boost your book’s credibility and visibility.

Durrghhhh, obviously. I have ‘reached out’ actually, and the ‘bookfluencers’ don’t even reply, or they’re too busy or important. Thank god for the lovely reviewers that have supported me — I’m beyond grateful. I was interviewed on TalkTv by Vanesa Feltz about the heatwave in Europe a couple of weeks ago. But I was too scared to drop my book into the convo because Vanessa is quite feisty. I should have used it to fan myself, demonstrating the extreme heat AND my book, but I didn’t want to push her.

6) Guest Blogging: Write guest posts for blogs or websites that cater to your book’s target audience. This can help you establish yourself as an expert and direct traffic to your book’s website or sales page.

But I’m NOT an expert — I only wrote a book.

7) Engage with Your Audience: Interact with your readers on social media, respond to comments, and participate in conversations related to your book’s genre or topic.

To be perfectly honest, I’m sick of going on about the bloody book. I much prefer reading psychological thrillers to historical fiction (my book’s genre), so why on earth would I want to talk about it any more than I already do?

8) Consider Paid Advertising: Depending on your budget, consider investing in online advertising platforms like Facebook Ads or Amazon Advertising to reach a wider audience.

Yep, doing all that, and what a learning curve it’s been. When I first started using Amazon ads, I became mildly addicted. I’ve never been a gambler (in the financial sense, anyway), but I can now understand the dopamine hit that comes with trying to ‘win’.

9) Local Events: Participate in book fairs, author signings, workshops, and other local events to connect with potential readers face-to-face.

I live in Barcelona. My book is written in English. Yes, I know there are plenty of English speakers here, but other than standing outside the Sagrada Familia hawking my wares (which is illegal, by the way), how the hellers will I find them?

10) Collaborations: Collaborate with other authors to cross-promote each other’s work and tap into each other’s audiences.

But we’re all seething with well-disguised envy when another author gets more reviews than us or has more likes on their posts, so how the heck is that going to work?

11) Persistence: Remember that book marketing is an ongoing process. It takes time to build momentum and see significant results. Stay persistent and keep adjusting your strategies based on what’s working best.

I’m trying, believe me, I AM TRYING! (said through clenched teeth)

12) Seek Professional Help: If you find marketing to be extremely challenging, you could consider hiring a book marketing expert or a publicist who specializes in promoting books.

Oh, right. I was thinking more like medical help. I’m already using copious amounts (well, drops) of CBD oil to calm my shattered nerves. And, as a result of the gambling sitch over on Amazon ads, I can’t afford a professional marketeer (is that a word?).

So, my day is spent — working from home at my proper job, scrolling through Instagram, doing silly filter videos on TikTok, staring into space, thinking about my next book, doing freelance editing and proofreading work whenever I can get it, watching lives from a lovely man called Billy on TikTok who films his town in Kenya (which is both mesmerizing and shocking in equal parts) and a woman called Sandra M who is a Spanish gypsy and has hardly any teeth (the few she does have are hanging by a thread — DM me and I’ll tell you her handle if you’re interested).

To conclude, I have absolutely NO time to market my wonderful historical novel, set in 1960s Barcelona, free on Kindle Unlimited, and a reet good story.