3 Tips For Successful Book Marketing: Be Different. Be Memorable. Be YOU.

By Lynda Bouchard

As a literary publicist for emerging and high profile authors, I have seen a lot of changes in the publishing industry over the last 20 years, yet one thing remains constant – the author’s sheer terror at the thought of marketing their work. They’d much rather dig a ditch or do anything else!

As writers you have a special and sacred gift - the ability to create entire worlds from your thought life. It’s my mission in life to change the way you all look at marketing because I don’t want you to waste your gift.

Let’s face it, you spend precious time writing your book. You should spend no less time on the marketing of it. And it begins before you write a single word. It begins with your mind-set and with your goals. Be very clear about them because it will determine the path forward with your marketing. It’s been said: ‘Victorious warriors WIN first and THEN go into battle.’ This applies to you as well. Having a plan and a winning mind-set will set you up for success.

 So, I’m going to share my top 3 memorable ways to set your next book up for success and have crazy fun doing it.

1. Think of Marketing as part of the creative process, not separate from it. It can be the most creative part because it is simply a continuation of the story telling. Now it becomes the story of you. The WHY of you comes to the fore. It’s what your audience wants to know about the most. Keep this in mind when you consider your marketing and publicity angles. When you look at your marketing through the prism of story it becomes infinitely more meaningful.  It’s fun when you think about this early  and as you write your book.  It will  make all the difference for you and your readers. Create memorable moments. There is always something unique in a writer’s life that lends to the marketing.

Here’s an example: My children’s Halloween book, The Witches Three Count on Me! has witches that fly around on broomsticks. I leveraged my former career as a flight attendant to get interviews on aviation podcasts. I brought the book in through the ‘back door.’ It got in front of an entirely new audience! Crew members are parents who have kids, after all.

2. You need both great writing and great marketing to be  successful.  Before you start writing. STOP. Ask yourself 2 important questions. Am I willing to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work necessary to promote this book and am I ready to do what it takes to make my writing memorable?

A book is a very unique product. You have a tangible object with intangible ideas inside. Your goal is to capture your readers’ attention BEFORE they buy it and bring those intangible ideas alive in the marketing. 

Here’s the reality: Great marketing can’t save a poorly written book, but it will help it fail faster! And there are wonderfully written books that have gone nowhere because of zero marketing effort. Want to get noticed? Write a great book. Be memorable in your marketing and have some fun! 

3.  Think about the end user of your book – YOUR READERS. Before you begin writing, be clear about how your book will add value to the lives of your readers. Ask yourself, ‘What will they learn?’  ‘How will they change?’ ‘Where will you take them?’ Paint the picture.  Share your knowledge! You know your book better than anyone. Successful publicity creates conversations. When you include your reader in the marketing, a magical alchemy happens and it’s an experience they share with others. There’s no better marketing than that.

Once you get this honed you’ll relax a bit because you have a nice personal narrative to share - that runs alongside of your book.

Lynda Bouchard is a literary publicist, podcast host and author. She’s the Founder of Booking Authors Ink, a boutique marketing firm dedicated to Southern authors. Lynda created a niche for herself in the publishing world by being the first literary publicist to focus on Southern regional authors. She has been working with, traveling with, and creating ‘outside-the-book’ marketing campaigns for high profile and emerging authors for over 20 years. Discover more about Lynda and her work here: https://www.BookingAuthorsInk.com

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The Saturday Slash

Don't be afraid to ask for help with the most critical first step of your writing journey - the query.

I’ve been blogging since 2011 and have critiqued over 200 queries here on the blog using my Hatchet of Death. This is how I edit myself, it is how I edit others. If you think you want to play with me and my hatchet, shoot me an email.

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If you’re ready to take the next step, I also offer editing services.

My thoughts are in blue, words to delete are in red, suggested rephrasing is in orange.

Cassidy Quinn didn’t mean to find herself in the center of a missing persons investigation. She’s no detective like her mother, and she’s not trying to be anything other than a regular teenage witch. I think you might have your hook buried here at the end of the opening para. I'd switch these thoughts around - Cassidy never wanted to be a detective like her mother, she just wants to be a regular teenage witch. But when she finds herself...

When Cassidy heads off to another year at Orawick Academy, a place that’s already notorious in the Magical Realm for being the only school that allows different types of creatures to study together under the same roof, she isn’t expecting to get caught up in the infamous school’s biggest scandal yet. As students start mysteriously disappearing from Orawick’s campus, Cassidy’s mother is sent to investigate. But when she also vanishes, Cassidy becomes is determined to figure out who is behind the abductions and why before it’s too late to save the only family that she has left.

With the help of her unconventional group of friends, including her potions-obsessed roommate and her charming childhood crush, Cassidy must unravel the clues that will lead her to the truth before her worst fear is realized. After she discovers the heinous actions that are being done to the kidnapper’s victims, Awkward sentence, but also a query is not the place to tease. Tell us what the heinous things are Cassidy realizes that continuing down this dangerous path could lead to her putting her own life on the line. But earlier you said she was determined... it doesn't feel like determination if at the first sign of danger she seriously considers bailing Cassidy must then decide how far she is willing to go in order to save the people that she loves most, even if it could mean losing herself along the way.

Orawick is a YA Fantasy novel complete at 88K words and will be my debut novel. My background is in screenwriting and working as a director, producer, and actress in the film industry, and my life overall revolves around storytelling. This book could be a standalone novel but has been written as the first in a series where the self-discovering journey found in Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson meets the dark mysteries of the underworld like in Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco.

Good bio and comp titles! The trick here is going to be showing what it is about your book that makes it stand out. Magical academies are old news. So is a mysterious bad force and saving someone you love, even though you could get hurt. This is all a plot that's been done a million times. What makes yours different? If it's the heinous thing being done to the kidnapping victims, tell us what that is.