Writing your first novel is an enormous accomplishment. Having achieved your goal, you’re now facing the prospect of publishing. You may realize there are some aspects of publishing your book you aren’t ready to take on. You aren’t alone if you love to write but hate the idea of marketing your book.
Why Marketing is Crucial
While it would be lovely to publish your book and have readers magically find it, the world doesn’t work that way. There are millions of readers and millions of books available. If you aren’t marketing your book to the appropriate readers, it will get lost in the clamor of other writers and their novels.
Marketing requires a multi-pronged approach, including search engine strategies, researching comparable books, optimizing everything from your novel’s title to its description, your author bio, and understanding its market potential as well as various niche market possibilities.
Marketed successfully, your book can sell in print and electronic formats across more than one genre. Without proper marketing, your book may languish without ever being adequately distributed. It might never be noticed before the next book comes along to capture the interest of readers.
Marketing Your Book Successfully
To market your book successfully, you’ll need to:
- Do the research required to develop a complete marketing strategy across various platforms, including social media
- Put together a print marketing program
- Get reviews or quotes from well-known writers or other authority figures regarding your book that can be used in your marketing
- Develop a website for your book
- Write and issue press releases connected to your book (but remember that your book is NEVER the hook)
- Begin a blog to engage with your readers and discuss your book regularly
- Develop a strong social media presence
- Do interviews, radio spots, and other appearances when possible in your local market
- Establish a relationship with book distributors who can get your books and eBooks in the hands of sellers and negotiate a fair royalty deal for your work.
If all this sounds like precisely the kind of work you hate, you aren’t alone. Marketing is a far cry from the creative work of writing. However, it is necessary to the success of any book, whether you’ve written an uplifting novel, a murder mystery, or a guide to helping loved ones cope with grief.
How Hybrid Publishing Can Help
A hybrid publisher can help you work through the complexities of marketing without taking away all control, giving you a delicate balance between the freedom of self-publishing and the support you need so you aren’t going it alone in the world of marketing your book.
If you hate the idea of marketing your book, Dudley Court Press can make it more palatable. You will become an active participant in a marketing team focused on introducing your book to readers and finding the right retail channels to succeed. You’ll have the benefit of our research staff, professional marketing writers, designers, and more. We work to garner reviews that are essential to attracting new readers. We’ll guide you through creating a website and blog, helping you with social media, and be there with you every step of the way.
With DCP, you’ll look at marketing your book as a labor of love rather than an overwhelming chore you have to do to get to the finish line. Together, we’ll send your book to publishing and sales success. As long as you want to market and sell your books, we will be there for you.
For more information regarding our Assisted Self-Publishing Program and other opportunities at Dudley Court Press, please reach out at info@dudleycourtpress.com.