Seven Things I Learned While Promoting "Seven" During a Pandemic by Farzana Doctor
My fourth novel, Seven, was released in September 2020. While I’d begun thinking about promotion the previous winter, by spring 2020, the world had changed; we were in lockdown and my publisher had furloughed most of their staff. What I learned about book promotion during this COVID-19 crisis was invaluable and will apply to post-pandemic life too:
1. Shift your approach—you are in charge.
Even if you’re working with a publicity team, think of yourself as the lead publicist because you know your book best and you’re also the person most committed to its success. Also it’s important to know that a publicist’s work is time-limited. They are likely overworked and underpaid, and after a few weeks or months they will need to shift their attention to other books on their list. You, on the other hand, will be thinking longer-term.
2. Meet with your publisher’s team (if you have one) to learn what they can do and the gaps you’ll need to fill. Ask for specifics. Find out how long they’ll be available and how best to coordinate and communicate with them. They are your valued teammates, so treat them with kindness and respect.
Ask if they will:
create advance review copies (when/to whom will they send them?)
submit to festivals and awards (which ones?)
do a pre-launch giveaway (Goodreads or similar platform)
offer a promo code to help with advance and special sales
do one-day flash sales
pitch to media, bloggers, Instagrammers (which ones?)
place radio, newspaper, journal or other ads
organize/support your launch
create graphics you can use
offer you a sample pitch
3. Find help. This can include people you pay and/or with whom you skill-share. For example, if you have a friend launching a book at the same time, why not trade promo tasks?
Here are a few ideas:
hire a freelance publicist in a limited capacity. In the few months I didn’t have a publicist, I hired my laid-off publicist to get started on long-lead promotion (festivals, magazines, reviewers, etc). She was a helpful sounding board, took on some tasks and offered advice. With her sample pitch in hand, I researched contacts and wrote customized pitches, and then she sent them off from her publicist email address, so that it would not appear that I’d written them myself! I’ve also heard of people creating fake publicist and assistant email addresses for this latter purpose.
hire a publicist for a full campaign. This can be costly (approximately $1000 or more per week, usually a 4-6 week minimum), and there are no guaranteed outcomes, but professional publicists have media contacts, energy, time and ideas that you don’t. Check out BookSparks or Smith Publicity.
meet with friends (other authors, journalists and those not connected to the publishing industry) to brainstorm ideas. Repeat this exercise every two months to generate fresh ideas. For example, a sex therapist friend introduced me to a number of sexual health podcasters, an angle that fit my book but that I wouldn’t have considered myself.
learn from other authors. Choose two books with similar themes to yours and send pitches to reviewers, event organizers and journalists who were interested in those books (or send these contacts to your publicist).
build a promo squad. I like to think of book promotion as a thousand acts done by a community of people.
4. Learn how to use social media
start building your friend/follower lists well before you need to promote your book.
choose 2-3 authors who are doing it well and follow their example.
hire someone to get started or invest a couple of hours watching YouTube tutorials to learn tips and tricks for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, TikTok and YouTube. You don’t have to use them all, but note that many book bloggers have moved to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Of course, these trends change over time.
try to be more generous vs narcissistic in your posts (i.e., promote other authors, contribute to the book world). Be authentic and interactive. For example, I had some warm exchanges with bloggers that led to book club invitations.
find influencers. These are people with large social media followings who agree to read your book, and if they like it, to post a kind post/review about it to their followers.
use apps like Hootsuite and/or integrate mailing list programs (i.e., Mailchimp) and your website’s blog with social media to save time.
5. Learn how to use traditional media
go beyond the book pages by focusing on your book’s themes and issues in pitches (for example, mine were: India/South Asia, sexuality, social justice, religion, gender-based violence).
are there special days/anniversaries that relate to your book? Write pitches to connect to them.
write your own articles. I pitched a few articles for large publications/blogs that allowed me to control my message while promoting the book (and bonus: two of them were paid).
ask writer friends to write reviews, articles, and interviews on their blogs or for their publications/podcasts
after each successful pitch, ask your contact for referrals. I landed more reviews and podcast interviews this way.
6. Organize your own online events. The pandemic proved how effective online events can be; they are physically/geographically more accessible and you can post a replay after.
Consider:
using closed-captioning
sending multiple reminders (via registrations, text, messenger)
using multiple platforms and keeping events under an hour
being creative: I did standard launches/interviews but I also interviewed my audiobook’s actors, my agent, and my cover designers
partnering with authors, organizations and book clubs
7. Shift your approach—again—to maintain perspective. There are many factors that help a book’s publicity, including your privilege, skills, social networks, timing, luck, world events, and your publisher’s budget. Buzz is manufactured and temporary. Set book promotion goals that are not just about sales and accolades but that focus on growing community, mutual support, touching hearts, creating change, learning, and having fun.
Farzana Doctor is the Tkaronto-based author of four novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, and Seven. Seven has been chosen for 2020 Best Book lists including: Indigo/Chapters, Apple Books, Amnesty International, CBC Books and has been shortlisted for the Trillium and Evergreen Awards. Her poetry collection, You Still Look The Same, will be released in fall 2022.
She is also an activist, part-time psychotherapist and amateur tarot card reader. www.farzanadoctor.com
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