Marketing a book

‘I feel really uncomfortable at the idea of marketing my book.’ Let me suggest a different way to think about this. Picture the one person who needs your book. Work out how to reach them. Then do it. That’s all the marketing you need to do.

Last month, on a whale-watching boat in the Santa Barbara channel, California: ~ Stranger, warmly, ‘I’m a great fan of your work!’ ~ Me, all British politeness, ‘Oh, thank you. I am so glad.’ If only I’d asked ‘Which is your favourite?’ to get us on the same wavelength. I’ve been mistaken for Olivia Coleman

Publishers don’t provide equal marketing support to every book. As proved in the publishing law trial of the year, when the US Department of Justice tried to block Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster. Therefore, as an author, you need to be marketing savvy. This isn’t about making you squirm at the thought