Authors often ask, “When should I start promoting my book?”
“Now” is usually a safe answer.
You can start as soon as you have committed to making it happen, but many authors in research and writing mode find it hard to do much else for a book.
For most authors, anything even slightly promotional has to wait until that first draft is done. That’s especially true for those who are self-publishing because it’s easy to keep pushing out those deadlines you set for yourself.
Where to start
It’s okay to wait until you’re confident that your book will be published in the next six to 12 months. Here are seven solid things you can do to build a foundation for your book’s marketplace launch as soon as you’re ready to take action, even when that launch is months and months away:
- Start building a mailing list. It’s one of the best ways to communicate on an ongoing basis with people you wrote your book for, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. Your fans will miss most of your tweets and status updates, but they’ll notice and read interesting information from you in their e-mail inbox.
- Review your social networks for holes. Where is your target audience, and do you have a presence wherever that is? If you do, make it stronger. If you don’t, start building it.
- Connect with bloggers. If you’re planning an online book launch, you’ll want to go on a virtual book tour (aka author blog tour). You will ask bloggers to share book-related content on their blogs – a guest post or Q&A, an audio or video interview, a review, and so on. Book tours are easier to schedule and more successful when you’re contacting bloggers who know you (or at least your name) already.
- Put together a list of influential people. Who is most influential with your book’s target audience? Begin building relationships with them so they’re more likely to provide a back cover blurb or support your book’s launch.
- Create your book launch media list. You’ll send review copies and a book announcement press release to the media outlets that are most likely to review the book or schedule an interview with you. Even if your publisher takes care of this, you’ll still want to add your own contacts to the distribution list.
- Update your website. Ditch the old-school scrollbars and the headshot that’s older than your first cell phone. Find a web design professional to create a contemporary-looking WordPress site that you can update yourself.
- Learn as much as you can about book marketing, promotion, and publicity. Whether you have a traditional publishing contract or will self-publish, you’re responsible for most of your book’s marketing. Read a how-to book or take a course.
Just don’t wait until the e-book is uploaded or you’ve signed for the delivery of enough cartons of books to fill a storage unit to start promoting your book. Plan ahead to enjoy a smooth and successful launch.