Marketing Your Book: Don’t Be a Muppet

 

By Emily Golus

 

Have you ever seen the 1970s Muppet Movie? Kermit the Frog and his friends journey to Hollywood, waltz into a producer’s office, and explain how they’ve always wanted to be movie stars. Moved, the producer hands them the “Standard Rich and Famous Contract,” and all of their dreams come true. Hooray!

Unfortunately for you and me, my writing friend, we are not Muppets.

No Rich and Famous Contract

Writing a book can be a long journey. Finding a way to get it published can be just as arduous. It’s tempting to think that once we sign on with a publisher or release our book on Kindle, we will have arrived. We’ll get to sit back and enjoy as fame and success just wash over us.

But alas, there’s no Rich and Famous Contract in the real world. Even many traditional publishers expect authors to do the lion’s share of marketing. I know some talented writers who created good books, but just kind of hoped the book would sell itself. When sales didn’t come easily, they gave up on their writing dreams. Please don’t do this.

The truth is, just like your book took work to write, it’s also going to take work to sell. It’s part of the author journey.

Remember Who You’re Trying to Reach

There are plenty of writers who groan about marketing. And it’s true—marketing isn’t easy and often calls for new skills we haven’t developed yet. The competition for readers’ attention can be fierce. And when you don’t have a professional marketing team (like many of us don’t) you may wonder if you can’t have a big splashy campaign, why do anything?

But before you start stressing about TikTok trends or some marketing guru’s complicated checklist, remember you’re not trying to reach everyone. You wrote that book for somebody to read, and your goal is to get your book into that somebody’s hands. Focus on your specific audience, and brainstorm ways to find those readers in the places they gather (virtually or in real life).

Get creative. Be ready to learn new things. Journey out of your comfort zone. And don’t lose sight of why you’re doing this: to get readers, even one at a time, to read and fall in love with your book.

Throw Some Spaghetti

The early stages of marketing can be like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. You can start with a mix of strategies: maybe in-person events, paid advertisements, and digital marketing. Or you can try one thing at a time, with the goal of switching things up every few months or so.

Take notes and evaluate after you’ve given something a few tries. What worked? What could you do better? What fit your personality and giftings best? Eventually you can find a sustainable strategy that works for you and your book.

Give It Time

A book is not a movie—you don’t have to make all your money back on its release week. You have time to try out different strategies.

Time is on your side. Your first foray into selling books at a live event may not be wildly successful. But the more you work at it, the better you get, and the more returns you can make on your investment.

Also, remember that you’re one person, and you can’t do everything all at once. Budget marketing time into each week, but don’t feel you have to do it all today. Take small steps, see what works, and don’t burn yourself out.

Do Your Research

I’m not going to give you the marketing “secret sauce” because I don’t know it. While there are some tried-and-true methods, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for every book and audience.

See what other authors are doing well, and figure out how you can adapt that for your audience and personality. Attend marketing workshops and panels at your favorite writers conference. 

Once you’ve gathered the information, create the first prong of your strategy (you can add more later, but don’t take everything on at once). Break it down into a list of tasks that you can actually do this month, and start there. 

Here are a few articles to give you some ideas:

·       Foundational ways to “light a fire” to your writing career: https://thewriteediting.blogspot.com/2017/04/how-to-light-fire-to-your-writing-career.html

·       Setting up a book launch team: https://thewriteediting.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-is-launch-team.html

·       Connecting with readers at live events: https://thewriteediting.blogspot.com/2024/11/connecting-with-readers-at-book-sale.html

·       An overview of marketing on Amazon: https://kindlepreneur.com/book-marketing/

 

Marketing is part of the author journey—and if you’ve worked hard enough to get this far, you’ve proven you have the strength to keep going. Don’t give up now, writing friend. New adventures await!

 

Photos courtesy of Ilona Bellotto on Unsplash

and Kate Bezzubets on Unsplash 

Photo by Volha Milovich on Unsplash

Emily Golus is an award-winning fantasy author with nearly 20 years of professional writing experience. Golus aims to engage, inspire, and show how small acts of courage and love create meaningful change. Her books feature diverse cultures, authentic characters, and cinematic fantasy settings. Her first novel, Escape to Vindor, won the 2018 Selah Award for Young Adult Fiction, and a spin-off novel, Crack the Stone, won the 2024 Kudos Award for Fiction and was named a Realm Award finalist.

Golus lives in Greenville, S.C., with her husband, Mike, who is her greatest supporter. They have two active little boys and enjoy hiking, making Thai food, and exploring small towns in the Carolinas. For Vindor book news, visit WorldofVindor.com and EmilyGolusBooks.com, and follow her at Instagram.com/WorldOfVindor.