There are different opinions on when to start marketing, and there are no correct answers.
These are my thoughts based on my experience and observing other authors at all stages of the author journey.
Watch the video below or here on YouTube. Full notes below.
This is an excerpt from How to Market a Book Third Edition, available now in ebook, print and audiobook formats.
If you are writing your first novel
I speak at a lot of author events, and get asked a lot of questions. So many writers get hung up on the minutiae of marketing when they don't even have a book yet. They might be asking about the intricacies of Amazon Ads before they've even finished chapter three.
But most people who start writing a book never finish it, so you need to spend all your time and energy getting it done so you are not one of them.
I also found that it took me several novels before I found my voice and was able to let go of the self-censorship that was holding me back. I ended up changing my author name for my third novel because I could see my audience was so different.
My recommendation if you are only writing fiction is to wait until your manuscript is with an editor before you consider marketing options. In that way, you will know that you are going to make it to publication and you should have more of an idea what genre you're writing in.
If you want to get going now, then start by building relationships online with other authors in your genre through social networks. These relationships often grow into something more substantial over time, and you can learn from what others are doing.
But don't distract yourself from writing.
Finishing the book is always the most important thing. You have nothing to market if you don't have a book!
If you are writing your first non-fiction book
It's much easier to build a non-fiction platform before the book is launched because it's usually based on a topic or specific niche. In fact, many non-fiction authors start out with a business or speaking or another form of income first before they decide to write a book.
You could start blogging about your topic or start a podcast around your niche as a way to build an audience before the book is out. It's certainly not a prerequisite by any means, but it can help loosen up your writing style and make it easier to connect with influencers in the market.
How to balance your time
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Annie Dillard
One of the most common questions I get asked is, “How do you balance your time between writing and marketing, as well as the rest of life?” But marketing doesn't have to cannibalize your writing, because there are two kinds of time.
Creative time
This is when you have the energy to be at your creative best and when I suggest you write and produce. This is not marketing or email or social media time. It's for writing the first or the next book.
It may take you some effort to work out, but for me, it's always the morning. When I had a full-time job, I would get up at 5 a.m. to write before work, because after work, I had nothing left. I was exhausted. These days, it's still the morning, and in fact, as I write this, I'm at my usual café with my noise-cancelling headphones on doing my creative morning slot.
But everyone has different approaches, so pick whatever time is right for you.
This doesn't mean that you can magically stream gorgeousness onto the page at that time every day, because creativity is hard work, with occasional moments of flow. But mostly, it’s about getting your butt in that chair and writing words that you can later edit into something fantastic.
So decide on your creative time and then make sure that you use that time to create something new in the world. Put that slot into your schedule or your calendar. Make an appointment with yourself as you would with a business colleague or a friend for lunch or your yoga class or your kids' events. Is your writing time not as important as those other things? If it isn't, then you should probably reassess wanting to be a writer.
Downtime
Then there is the other time that is not taken up by your family, or work commitments when you're mentally tired and not feeling creative. This is where you can manage your marketing and the learning required to develop marketing skills.
When I worked full time, this was any time after work, or during any breaks I managed to snatch during the day. Count the number of hours a week you watch TV because you're exhausted and then take half of those for your book marketing time. For me, this is in the afternoon or evening, when I have finished my creative work.
What will you give up in order to make time?
We all have the same number of hours in the day, so you have to decide what you will do with yours. When I decided to become a full-time author, I was so miserable at my day job that I was willing to do anything to change my life.
We got rid of the TV, and I actively chose to consume less media and focus on creation rather than consumption. We still watch specific shows but actively choose what we watch and limit the number of hours.
How many hours a day are you passively consuming content? You might be able to free up several hours per night, or even just one extra hour that you can use productively. If you're a night owl, then use this time to write and your early morning slot for a marketing session.
I also gave up 20% of my income in exchange for time. I moved to four days a week at work, so that I could spend an extra day on writing and marketing. I also worked pretty much every weekend on my author business, cutting out a lot of social commitments and other hobbies. This was a serious career change for me, and I was willing to invest in it.
You have to decide on your goals and take control of your life and your time. That's it. It's simple, but like so many things, it's not easy.
How much do you want this?
The truth is that no one ever has enough time to do everything. The To Do list is never empty. The work of an author is never over.
It is not a 9-5 experience where you can drop it all when you get home. It's a constant stream of ideas that you want to write about, a myriad of marketing possibilities … and then there's real life to fit in! So keep coming back to why you are doing this.
What is your definition of success and what will you give up to achieve that?
This is an excerpt from How to Market a Book Third Edition, available now in ebook, print and audiobook formats.
Need more help?
If you'd like some more help on your author journey, check out:
- My Books for Authors, including How to Market a Book. Third Edition.
- My Courses for Authors, including How to Write Non-Fiction, and How to Write a Novel
- The Creative Penn Podcast, interviews, inspiration and information on writing, publishing, book marketing and creative entrepreneurship every Monday
- My videos at YouTube.com/thecreativepenn
- Join the Alliance of Independent Authors for education, advocacy, help and networking with other indie authors