You wrote your book, what's next? Marketing.

Congratulations! You finished your book. You've spent countless hours pouring your mind onto the page, you got an editor to make sure it reads well and prints right, you may have even already finished the cover art and typography but at the end of the day how will your book get into the hands of readers?

Marketing. I know, I know. I've heard it all: "Marketing is expensive!" "I've hired marketing firms before and didn't get what I was promised." "My niece is posting on her social media, that's all I need." "I can just use AI and run a Google/Facebook ad."

So, I'm going to give you everything. Every trick, tip, and pitfall to avoid.

First, are you hiring a firm or marketing expert? Vet them. Ask for previous client's and see what media was acquired while using their services. Do any of the media outlets seem unaccessible, like you would need any agent or manager to get in contact with their booking team? These outlets would be: The New York Times, NPR, Oprah's Book Club, GMA, etc.

If a marketing firm is able to easily book those spots, they have connections. That being said, with enough tenacity and patience any individual could work their way up the chain of command and try to persuade someone at one of these outlets to do a piece on their book or author. But MOST small marketing firms are not willing to spend the time doing that.

You want to do this independently, no firm, no team, just you. Fine. Here is what I do for any of my clients. First, you're going to want at least a 4 month cushion between starting your media outreach and your books release because there are some outlets with posted 4 month waiting periods.

1. Classify your book

What is your book about? Take apart any and every theme down to it's simplest form. Do you have a Sci-Fi book about a teacher who saves the planet from micro-organisms but there's also a romantic trope? That's Sci-Fi, Teachers, Scientists, Romance, Rom-Com's, Apocolypse, Catastrophe, Trauma Bonding, etc.

Each of those categories have outlets specifically for their fans. Blogs, Podcasts, News Segments, Specific Influencers, Reviewers, Book Clubs, Facebook Groups, Reddit Groups, and more. You are going to create a list of every outlet you can find that you think you could angle your book to work for and then you're going to scour the internet for their contact information. There are professional sites that require paid memberships, or you can use sites like RocketReach that offer free-trials where you can unlock contact information. There may be outlets you can't find contact information for, don't delete them from your list, you will still reach out to these outlets but it will take creativity. Put those unreachables to the bottom of your list, and then classify each outlet with how it will benefit you campaign(i.e., Review, Interview, Publicity Spot, Article, etc.). For the unreachables when the time comes you are going to find any and all emails associated with Editors, Writers, or just the outlet and you are going to continue to reach out and ask for the right contact until you are able to get ahold of who you need to talk to.

Then it's time for step 2.

2. Create your query

"QUERY" a dreaded word, I know. You've spent so much time querying publishers, agents, and managers in hopes that they would take over the responsibility of querying in the future.

But, here you are.

You are going to want a query letter that can be tailored quickly using the classifications from the last step. I'm not going to give you the letter, but here's a basic template:

• Introductory paragraph about the author and a logline for the book.

• Reason the outlet should be interested in your book/author with a brief synopsis.

• A specific media request that can be swapped for each category.

• A deadline(the release date) for when you need to have the media released on.

• Links, Press kits, etc.

3. Update your Web Presence

Now you have categories full of key words and a query letter with snappy author and book intros it's time to optimize your online presence. First, if you don't have a website, get one. Now, Google yourself. "Author Name" "Author Name Author" "Author Name Book" "Book Name" "Author Name Book Name"

If you aren't the top result on every one of those searches, then you have your work cut out for you. You need to optimize your SEO terms for your site, start creating trusted backlinks, and make sure that you have a consistent online presence so that your official site, Goodreads, Facebook, etc. all appear to belong to the same person.

Only use high-quality media, especially for images of you and your book.

Don't use AI. Aside from my hatred as an artist for AI-generated slop advertisements and posts the algorithm on Social Media Platforms is starting to identify AI material and automatically marking it. Audiences who don't interact with AI-content will never see these posts so you're losing a potential audience before they have the chance to judge for themselves.

Now, make sure that any media outlet you book has your website link and is including it in their article and that they are tagging you in all posts. This is the best way you can increase your websites trust rating so that Search Engines want to recommend it. This will also help grow your social media following without the luck of a viral post. During this step you are going to want to look at who low/medium level PR Firms are booking for their clients. There are outlets like Writer's Life Magizine that will feature an Author for $85 or Blog outlets like AwesomeGang where you can get up to 8 free articles posted quickly to build up backlinks. While I don't consider these media outlets to be valuable in gaining readers I find them extremely valuable for growing your online presence.

Continue to post on your Author Pages. Ideal balance is 2-3 life posts for every one advertisement post. But, during a release the focus may change to mostly book ads. And keep it interesting, still images, videos, interactive posts, anything new that let's your audience feel like they aren't just following a marketing campaign.

4. Solidify a local presence

Invite your community to support you. The best way to do this is finding local bookshops, libraries, cafes, or other locations that would host you for a signing or reading. While an email can get the job done, having an author come in with a physical copy in person to show to a manager or owner can really make the difference. Local news and radio stations may have dwindling viewership but their viewership is a dedicated one. Getting a local author spotlight may not turn you into a best-seller overnight but it will has the opportunity to create some extremely dedictated fans in your local area.

5. Do what you're comfortable doing

Not every path is right for every person. Some authors find success selling their books on TikTok Lives like the Home Shopping Network. Some find success setting up a booth at their local farmer's market. And some never try to find success and hope it just finds them. At the end of the day a marketing campaign is tailored to you. Which is why I'm comfortable giving away the secrets.

I know that running social media pages, creating marketing materials, booking interviews, reviews, and book signings, and optimizing a website isn't in the job description and isn't why you became an author. It may be something you have to do now because money is tight or you've been burned in the past.

But down the road things can change, and when they do, you know that there's someone transparent in marketing who will tell you honestly that not all media outlets are worthwhile and that marketing doesn't need to cost the same as a mortgage on a family home.

If you're ready to create a partnership that will help get your book in front of real reader's don't hesitate to reach out. pageandscreencreative@gmail.com