One of the major hurdles an indie author must overcome is marketing. As an independent author, you don’t have the “Mad Men” at your beckon call to promote the heck out of your new book release. So, the question remains, how much is too much or is it not enough?
My inbox is filled with offers of marketing opportunities at reasonable prices to thousands of readers. Seems easy enough, but looks can be deceiving. A lot of these sites look the same and offer similar marketing schemes. I can’t say for sure whether or not they’re legitimate, but most of them find their way into my junk mail folder.
Social media is the easiest and cheapest way to garner a simple form of marketing. Ads on Facebook, IG, Twitter (or “X”) and other platforms can help but they still cost for clicks and link follows. And you need followers to monetize your posts. Mind you, there are scammers there too. “Gain 15,000+ followers!” Sorry, but never pay for what people claim is a sure thing. You’re bound to get trapped.
There are some easy ways to market, primarily through social media, but “BookTokkers” are a rising faction on TikTok. They read and review your books, sometimes just by sending them a copy. Others, like some “bookstagrammers” on IG want to be paid for reviews. I have done that initially but not anymore. I don’t mind sending a FREE copy of my book to someone who wants to read and review it, but I won’t pay for reviews. Sometimes, it seems like some of the reviewers are cutting and pasting comments from other reviews, not really reading the book. I don’t mind if a review is good or bad. Feedback helps me grow as an author.
I know that marketing is a subject I’ve talked about frequently, but it really does a number on indie authors. We are constantly taken advantage of by scammers trying to make an easy buck on desperate writers trying to make a name for themselves. I fell for more than one scammer in my 20+ years as an independent author. I am speaking from experience here. Don’t waste your money.
I’ve grown a simple following, a little over 5,000 on some platforms. I know some of those are probably “bots” but its nice to see people joining in the conversation. Mind you, it’s nothing to brag about but I’m still plugging away at it with daily posts and doing book signings, festivals and conventions. I could hire a marketing specialist to really plug away my books but that’s money I don’t have. I’m sure you don’t either.
Check out my Events link to keep track of all my book signing events or, if you can’t make it, head over to Buy My Books link to find the best deals online. You can follow me on all my social media for updates too! Thanks for your continued support!
The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—are available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.
Cross over The River of Souls in a fantasy novella and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates from Curious Corvid Publishing. The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel and The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series, are coming soon from Curious Corvid. Stay tuned for new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.
Mark Piggott | Fantasy & Steampunk Author 