Melissa DeCuir

When you write and publish a book, naturally, you want people to read it. The best way to get your book in front of readers is to promote it. “Publicity” is the umbrella term for the steps an author takes to promote their book. Publicity and marketing may include organizing author talks and events, scheduling book reviews and guest articles in newspapers and online, coordinating advertisements, and sending out early copies of the books to readers who will review the book before, during, and after its release date.

Book publicity is a big job. Some authors love it; others find it too time consuming and demanding to handle all aspects of promoting their book on their own. The goal of a professional publicity team is to handle promotion on an author’s behalf, so the author can focus on writing their next book while simultaneously getting better promotion than they could coordinate on their own without inside knowledge of literary marketing and public relations strategies.

Below, we’re answering some of the biggest questions authors may have about book promotion and the role a publicity company can play.

What is the biggest misconception about hiring a marketing team for your books?

One of the biggest misconceptions about book marketing and publicity is that a book’s story or premise will sell the book on its own.

You really need to think of your book as a product; every aspect of your book should be designed to sell that product. In addition to a great premise, you also need an eye-catching, professionally designed cover, a strong editor, early blurbs and reviews, a solid sales plan that ensures your book is easily accessible in multiple formats—e-book, audio, and the like—and that’s just hitting a few basics. 

No “one thing” will make a book take off. Many things come together to support a title and give it its best chance at success in the marketplace. Prepare to put the same amount of time and energy into promoting your book as you put into writing it. 

What can a marketing team do that the author can’t?

Someone who specializes in author publicity and book marketing has built up years of experience to ultimately save you time, energy, and headache. Promotional strategies are constantly changing. New opportunities are available each year. Having to sift through all of this information is time consuming at best; at worst, you’re actually missing opportunities to maximize your book launch. 

A publicist has expertise in elevating your author brand and coordinating effective book marketing. Publicists have also developed relationships with a strong list of book reviewers, social media influencers, booksellers, librarians, and other industry insiders. This means they can efficiently reach the decision-makers who recommend books in media, online, and at bookstores.

Firms like Books Forward work hard to stay ahead of industry trends, tailoring promotional efforts to the author’s goals and budget, the book’s genre and target audience, and any fresh opportunities that may be available.

In short, publicists make book promotion easier, more efficient, and most effective. 

How far in advance should an author contact a publicity firm regarding their upcoming release?

Reach out to a publicity firm sooner rather than later. Publicists hear from multiple authors each day interested in their services and schedule campaigns many months in advance of the book’s launch. A good rule of thumb is to start your publicity about four months prior to the public release date—which means you need to reach out to a firm even sooner to reserve your space in their schedule.

If you’re already closer to your book launch, or even post-launch, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for support. While it is good to build a foundation leading up to launch, there are absolutely some worthwhile post-launch promotional tactics to keep momentum going.

What’s the best way for an author to promote their previously published books? 

The more books you launch and promote, the better your return will be. You can advertise the first book of a series, the entire series overall, a collection of separate but related titles, or stand-alone titles. There are many advertising opportunities to reach fans of comparable authors directly via social media, retail platforms, book club newsletters and other industry sites. 

In addition to targeted advertising, you can breathe new life into a previously released book by

• getting active on social media and joining BookTok challenges;
• connecting your book to something happening in the news cycle, especially if you can provide expert commentary on the issue or trend;
• placing guest articles that intrigue readers and feature links to your books;
• hosting fellow authors at your local bookstore for events where you celebrate the new author’s launch while promoting your work at the same time;
• running a promotional price for your e-book that you can advertise;
• honing in further on areas you saw the best traction with your book launch.

There are always more readers to reach!

What kind of timeline should I consider for publicity?

You should expect for traditional publicity efforts to begin about four months prior to a book’s publication date. Many reviewers and bookish outlets not only expect but require advanced copies of the book to have time to plan their coverage before the general public has access to the title.

Reach out to interview publicity firms even further in advance of that, as many schedule campaigns quite far out.

It is very important to put a strong effort behind your book’s launch. This will help build word-of-mouth buzz and spark retailer algorithms. It’s also important to note that pre-sales count toward your first week of sales, which can affect whether you hit bestseller lists.

But if you’re already post-launch, know that there are plenty of opportunities still available to keep building momentum and readership. It’s an outdated way of thinking that books can only be promoted prior to release, and authors shouldn’t give up on promotion if they just didn’t have the time or resources to devote to the initial launch.

Writing more than one book helps as well. Readers who fall in love with your work will want more, and other new readers will be introduced each time you release a book.

What will my publicists handle? What will I be expected to do?

Book promotion is most effective when authors are involved partners. So yes, even though a professional agency can handle many pieces, you are still the “face” of promotion and will be the one doing the interviews, writing guest articles, networking in person, and so forth. A seasoned publicist should certainly shape the promotional plan to fit your comfort level—perhaps, for example, you love writing guest articles but prefer to not do in-person events. No matter what, you’ll have some level of involvement, even if it’s simply to review and approve strategies before they are implemented on your behalf.

Let’s say I write three different series. Should I ever promote the three together as my brand, or should I keep them as their own entities?

Be strategic with how you promote separate series. If they are within the same genre, you can absolutely promote to the same audiences, but also think about ways each series is unique and how each may individually appeal to readers. If you are writing across genres, you definitely need to cater to the different target audiences with your promotion.

If I publish under multiple pen names, do I need to create social media profiles for each pen name?

You certainly can, but only do so if you plan to actively run each account. Of course, social media management can be incredibly time consuming, so you may want to focus on a platform you know and understand really well—and actually enjoy—versus running multiple accounts on multiple platforms without giving your all to each of them.

Think about why you chose a pen name. If it was to differentiate from your previous work, you’ll need to treat the promotion as such. 

How much does good book publicity cost?

Good publicity from a seasoned professional will likely cost more than $5,000, and frankly, you get what you pay for. Publicity is incredibly time-consuming and specialized work. 

Some publicity firms, like Books Forward, do offer pro bono services each year, as well as consultations to help set authors on the right path for publicity. Books Forward also offers guided DIY packages and training materials authors can use on their own, so they don’t break their budget.

In general, book promotion should be seen as an investment, just like starting any new business. There will be the short-term benefit of immediate exposure to various audiences and the longer-term benefit of accolades and acclaim that support your author brand for years to come as more readers discover your books.

What should authors expect in terms of success?

Think about what success means to you. Does success look like selling lots of books, releasing more than one book, getting a feature in a newspaper, building up your readership, garnering reviews, or something else? Then think about clear, actionable, and realistic steps you can take toward achieving those personalized goals.

If you need some inspiration, check out the case studies on the Books Forward website for various authors with just as varied goals: https://booksforward.com/case-studies. 

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun with your promotion. Enjoy the experience as you see readers connect with your work. 

Melissa De Cuir