Promoting yourself as an author

The first to announce any book will be (or should be) the author, and they should take the lead on the social media realm, providing sharable content to the publisher, as well as to anyone wanting to support them and their book.

Feeling bashful about it? Think about how often you’ve supported friends who announced book news! Did you ever think, “Oh, she had the audacity to post about her book! I refuse to buy it!” (If you did, re-evaluate why seeing others succeed hurts you… 🧐)

If, on the other hand, you supported your friends and were happy for them, you can safely assume they will feel the same way. Share your book news!

Readers will be less interested in a book if they perceive that the author is not committed to the work.

Promoting yourself through consistent social media and a willingness to do interviews and events will attract more attention and readers for your book.

Show your conviction and convince others that your work is worth reading by talking about your book in a way that will intrigue and pull readers in.

A single post is not enough to promote your book on social media. Even a series of “buy my book” posts or “my book is available now” posts won’t do much. Why? Because everyone else is doing the same, and because after a few posts your followers start to tune you out.

You have to interact with your followers in fun and engaging ways in order to keep their interest.

Here are some things you can try:
1. Run a live Q&A session to give people a chance to ask questions about your book, your writing process, your life.

2. Post a few interesting anecdotes about writing the book. Everyone loves to take a peek behind the scenes.

3. Invite your fans to your upcoming events by creating social media graphics. Let them know in advance where to find you and encourage them to join you.

4. Share teasers from your book: quotes, blurbs (pre-publication endorsements), or illustrations.

5. Lastly, don’t forget to share fan photos of your book. If someone bookstagrams it, share it! That’s the best kind of social proof. After all, if your friends are all reading a certain book you will want to read it too, right?

Social media goes a long way toward promoting your book and it’s (for the most part) free, but it does require some time and creativity. We love to see more of your cool book promo ideas! 🙂

“You don’t need to be loud to get publicity, but you do need to put yourself out there.”

There’s an ugly trend of telling authors to “keep the promotion down,” to limit the number of times they post about their book on social media to share news of their success, or the number of events they participate in and announce on their accounts, or even how often they pitch members of the media. Not surprisingly, women and authors of color are given this message the most.

“Be humble. Don’t overdo it.” Really? Why? Will the media and readers then miraculously approach the author with opportunities and recognition? Or is this just a form of gatekeeping? Perhaps these messages of “be quiet” are motivated by jealousy/envy/not wanting the author to succeed? We’re seeing a lot of this as of late and we have to question the motivation.

If you’re being told to tone down your PR efforts, quiet down on social media, don’t “overdo it” with your book… Consider the source, and ignore the advice accordingly! Don’t listen to the noise and don’t fall into the trap!

Your email and media contacts ➡️your rules
your social media account ➡️your rules
your website and newsletter ➡️your rules
your online platform ➡️your rules
your book ➡️your rules

Do whatever you want to and can do to promote YOUR book. The people telling you to do less are not going to make up for the book sales you lose by following their advice, so ignore them.

No one has the opportunity to learn about your work if you stay silent. By putting yourself out there, you invite people in. This gives them the chance to fall in love with your stories and ideas. Spreading the word about your book is a necessary (and dare we say fun?) part of the publishing process. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise. #IgnoreTheHaters