Write On! Features: Marketing For Beginners by Roxie Key

This work was originally published in Mslexia magazine, www.mslexia.co.uk

By Roxie Key

Whether you’ve scored a traditional publishing deal or embarked upon the journey of self-publishing, firstly – congratulations! Your book is going to be in the hands of readers. But here’s the thing – there are hundreds of thousands of books published every year. So, the question is: how do you make your brilliant book stand out in a sea of other brilliant books?

If you’re with a major publisher, you may be lucky enough to have your own marketing team or publicist. I was one of those authors. However, I knew from the beginning of my publishing journey that I wasn’t a priority author: I’m not a household name or a beloved celebrity author. So, I embraced marketing myself. And, with my marketing background, I found I wanted to. But you’re a writer and (I’m making a wild guess here) not a marketer, so I’ve pulled together four simple ideas that feel achievable and should help you see results.

1. Getting Your Book into Book Shops and Libraries

Before my debut novel was published, I’d hoped that it’d already be on the radar of booksellers and librarians and naively assumed it would grace the shelves of every Waterstones and independent book shop I dipped into during that first month. However, the harsh reality is that the constant stream of new books being published is relentless… and I simply wasn’t prepared to risk my book getting lost in the wave.

With that in mind, I pulled together a press release, a high-resolution image of the book, and an author headshot. I (nervously) began sending it out with the subject heading “Local Author Launches Debut Novel,” starting with local book shops and libraries. This resulted in four local libraries stocking my book and a lovely independent book shop down the road from me offering to stock signed copies. I was off to a great start.

After discovering that not everyone responded well to email requests, I slid into a few booksellers’ DMs, asking very sweetly if they’d heard of my book yet and if they could find room on their shelves to support a local author and her first ever novel. As a result, another three independent book shops stocked signed copies of my book. Now, these seem like small numbers, but once a book is in a book shop, provided it sells, they are much more likely to place repeat orders.

But I didn’t stop with local booksellers. For example, although I’m from Northampton, my crime novel is set in two locations – Brighton and Plockton – so I approached book shops in those areas too. My book also features an LGBTQIA+ protagonist, so I contacted queer booksellers and crime book shops. Ask yourself: what’s unique about your book, and how could you use that to your advantage? I’ve seen book shops dedicated to feminist tales and shops that only sell cookbooks or children’s books. I’ve even seen a book shop focused on magic, witchcraft, and the occult. There’s something for everyone, and somewhere for every book.

And finally, never underestimate the power of simply walking into a shop to introduce yourself and your book. I know – it filled me with dread, too – but it does get easier (I promise!). As long as you’re polite and kind, the worst thing that can happen is that the bookseller says, “I’ll think about it.” Wherever I am in the country, if I spot a book shop, I head inside and ask about my novel. If they have it, I offer to sign it — I’ve never been told no. If they don’t have it, I hand them a bookmark or book sampler and ask them if they’d consider checking it out.

2. Getting Your Book into the Press

Have you always dreamed of seeing your book featured in the pages of a magazine or newspaper? It’s possible — even without your own publicist or marketing team. It makes perfect sense that regional press outlets are focused on local news and local people, so it also makes sense to use that as a starting point.

My approach was simple: I spent some time trawling Google for every single newspaper, magazine, and radio station local to my hometown of Northamptonshire and created a comprehensive list. I used the same approach as I did with the book shops and libraries: I emailed out my press release and images to every publication on that list. Within a few weeks, I managed to secure three pieces of news coverage and a BBC radio interview – which was so much fun (if a little nerve-wracking!). It went so well, they promised to give me a shout-out on air for any future book news or events.

Much like my tactic with book shops, there’s no reason why you should limit yourself to local news outlets — but it is important to think about why a newspaper or magazine would feature your book. What do you think would be of interest to them specifically? I approached press in both the locations my book is set and secured a lovely feature in a Sussex publication. Of course, it’s impossible to tell how much impact these features had in terms of sales, but it certainly made the book more visible to potential readers (and felt like an achievement on my part).

It’s also worth thinking about you and your personal story. Did you overcome something huge to get to publication? Or perhaps the book is based on something extraordinary that happened in your life? These kinds of things are worth considering, too – they often make excellent stories.

3. Getting Your Book into Book Clubs

Another brilliant way to connect with readers is via book clubs, because it’s a guaranteed group of people reading and talking about your book. And if you’re up for it, you could arrange a Q&A session with them. Are there any book clubs local to you, or does your area have a Chapter 25 Book Club? This particular chain of book clubs has become so popular lately. I sent them a copy of my book, which was selected as a book club read for five clubs last September and eleven clubs this January. This alone has exposed hundreds of readers to my book, gained me some extra reviews online and it didn’t cost me a penny. Plus, I really enjoyed being included in the book club discussions and Q&As – I felt very honoured to be able to sit down and talk with readers like that.

Want to get involved? Try Googling book clubs local to you, searching on social media, or asking around. When you find one, get in touch, introduce yourself, and ask if they’d like to support a local author. Let them know if you’re up for attending the session where they’re discussing your book (this is often appealing to book clubs as it makes it so special!) and make sure you share a copy of your book with them so they can check if it’s suitable for their club – most will be happy to receive this via email. Nothing near you? Don’t worry… many book clubs operate virtually or via social media, so there are plenty you can get involved with.

4. Making the Most of Social Media

Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. I personally love using social media to connect with bloggers, booksellers, festival organisers, publications, and other authors. Because, when you think about it, writing is a pretty lonely occupation, and social media brings with it a sense of community among people with similar dreams and working toward similar goals. And that, reader, is your tribe. There are many ways to make the most of this free, easy way to network outside of making friends and regularly plugging your latest book (which you absolutely should be doing).

Obviously, it’s one way of telling the world about what you’ve written, and there’s so much you can share besides pre-order links, including positive reviews, press quotes, moodboards, Q&A videos, snippets or quotes from the book (and the audiobook, if you have one!), character profiles, or even video content that links to a current social media trend – provided it works for your book, of course.

But how else do you use social media? How often do you find yourself sharing other people’s good news — book announcements, Kindle deals, and author events? If it’s not very often, this one might be worth thinking about. Because not only does this give you a warm, fuzzy feeling, but they’re more likely to share your good news if you share theirs. This is a big factor in why I spent so much time writing crime fiction reviews. When my own book was announced, I felt pretty confident reaching out to the authors I’d reviewed, and I managed to secure 15 amazing quotes as a result.

Social media is also a great way to run competitions which can drum up excitement, put your book in front of people who haven’t heard it before, and increase your online following. All it takes is a nicely worded social post (ensure you check each platform’s rules on competitions before posting) and an attention-grabbing image – I use Canva to create mine – plus the cost of a book, plus postage. You could take it even further and collaborate with other authors to give away a book bundle.

Let’s Wrap This Up…

When it comes to marketing your own books, the very thought of it can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. And on the other hand, it can be tempting to throw absolutely everything at it and hope for the best, but that really depends on how much time you can realistically dedicate to marketing. The likelihood is that you’re already juggling so much – the day job, your family and social life, your home, not to mention the writing – so, your best bet is to focus on the areas that are likely to give you the best return for the smallest investment in both time and money.

I have faith in you, and I’d love to hear your own marketing success stories!

Roxie Key

Write a Press Release in 8 Easy Steps

If you’ve never written one before, pulling together a press release might feel daunting, but (thankfully!) it’s pretty simple.

1. Start with a headline that encapsulates the essence of your news – mine was simply “Local Author Launches Debut Crime Novel.”
2. Then follow with your opening paragraph with all the key information – your book title, the name of your publisher (if applicable), the launch date, and what formats it’ll be available in.
3. Next, you’ll want to include a short paragraph introducing you as a writer – what it is you’re all about.
4. Follow with a short paragraph about the book – just a few lines to capture the essence of it.
5. If you have any quotes from other authors, bloggers, press or early readers, pop a few in after this.
6. Next up, include a short quote from yourself – it’s time to convey how excited you are to share your book with the world!
7. Then you want to share where the book can be found. Provided your book has an ISBN, it should be available to pre-order from any book shop. If there are signed copies available anywhere, note that down here.
8. Finish with your sign off, including your email address, website, social media links, and the contact details of your agent, editor and publicist (where relevant).

*****

Roxie Key is an author from Northampton, where they live with their wife and daughter. Roxie has always been a writer, hoping from a young age that one day they’d see their name on a book cover. Roxie’s degree is in creative writing, and they currently work as a copywriter for a global brand. Roxie’s debut novel, The Deadly Spark, is out now!

Connect with Roxie via their website: roxiekey.com