The Marketing Fear

Let’s be honest, authors: we aren’t exactly the “Aces” of marketing. I’ve yet to meet a truly extroverted writer!

Every morning, I read the news and feeds in various writing groups. I learn a lot from other writers’ experiences, but one question pops up across hundreds of thousands of groups: “I published my book, it’s live on KDP, now how do I sell it?” The advice everyone gives is “market your book.” Do you think they don’t know that? Every writer knows they have to market. We just don’t want to. Keep your eyes open here, my friends: a writer’s fear of marketing is often what triggers scamming incidents.

Fear Nothing

When I first joined a meditation group over twenty years ago, our teacher told us to “fear nothing.” That phrase has stayed with me ever since. Now, I know—having no fear is easy to say, but much harder to practice!

The point I’m trying to make is this: living in fear often causes more trouble than the thing we’re afraid of. Publishing a book is no small task, but finishing the manuscript is just the beginning of your career as an author.

Twenty-First Century Authors

When I published The Adventures of Patti and Barci: The City of Cats, the only followers I had were my friends, neighbors, and family. Needless to say, I felt bad posting about my book. I was worried they’d be annoyed by my rhetoric. After all, they already bought the book to support me—what else could they do?

On top of that, your closest circle might not like or comment at all because they are truly burned out from hearing you talk about books. But that’s what writers do: we talk about books!

Plan B: The Most Important Step

You need to make new friends. You have to get out of your shell, venture into the world, and post your content everywhere. There are so many writer groups on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Substack. Go after them!

Here are some great communities to check out:

• @authorssupportingauthors
• @BASSforauthors
• @Childrensbooksauthorsandillustrators
• @thewritersforums
• ARCreadersforauthors
• @20Booksto50K
• @femalewriters
• @bookpromotionsandreviews
• @ingramsparkauthors
• @KDPAmazonselfpublishing

What to Expect?

Most of these groups allow you to post and promote, but always read the group rules before you do. Often, they will have specific days or threads where they ask you to share your work.

Also, expect a lot of solicitations for marketing services. My advice? Research every solicitor. Ignore and report them if necessary. There are many scammers “cat-fishing” in these groups. If you’re interested, let me know in the comments and I will create a post about the red flags I’ve identified and how to catch a scammer.

Content

At the beginning of this journey, I had no idea what to post. Honestly, I’m still testing the waters to see what works!

Feedback would be nice, so leave your comments below or find me on social media. I post pictures of my dog, my book, my illustrations, the food I cook, and flowers—lots of flowers. Posting often and regularly helps the algorithms pick up your content and push it forward.

And you must give things time: not losing patience is, in itself, a strategy. Recognize that hard work and consistency are fundamental in any business. And do not fall for false promises about tripling your sales or anything of the sort; that is one of the red flags mapping the road to scammers.

Au Revoir

I’ve learned these tips and more just by reading my “morning paper”: those writers’ groups. I also have friends who have taught me tricks, like training Chat GPT on who you are as an author. Thank me later!

For more insight into my writing and publishing journey, follow Anechy Padron.

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