5 ways to promote your book
5 ways to promote your book
I write this blog, having just Instagrammed messaged a friend of a friend with a large following, sent an email to the brother of one of my best friend’s whose wife happens to be BFFs with a media heavy-hitter and drafted some article pitches for the features editor of national newspaper (whose contact details I had to beg off a friend). What they don’t tell you about publishing a novel is that it’s after you’ve written the book that the real work begins.
You might have written the book but now you need to get people to buy it. And how are they going to buy it if they haven’t heard of it? You need to spread the word. But how:
1. Contact your local paper – local papers are always looking for content and a local success story is just the kind of news they want. Make sure you contact them in advance but ask them to time the story in line with your release date so that hopefully an army of their readers will rush down to the bookshop and buy your book.
2. Start up a social media storm – I know there’s nothing more embarrassing than having to brag about yourself on social media but posting information about your book having been published is the quickest way to let your wider circle know it’s out there. I was surprised and stoked by how many old friends that I’d lost immediate contact with messaged to congratulate me.
3. Go back to school – does your old school have an alumni magazine that you could feature in? Promoting the success of one of their old students is as beneficial to the school as it is to you so don’t be afraid to ask them.
4. It’s not what you know but who – another tip that you have to put shame to one side for. Do you, like me, have friends who might have friends in high places? Be prepared that this one is a bit of a long shot but then again so is publishing a book, so it’s always worth asking.
5. The best things in life are free – pitch articles to newspapers/magazines/book bloggers/review websites. Anything you can do to get your name and your book out there can only be beneficial and while most of these resources won’t have budget to pay you, they will have followers to support you.
Good luck – I’m off to trawl through Facebook for any forgotten celebrity connections…