You Wrote a Whole Book. Great. Now the Real Work Begins
You wrote a book. An entire book. Roughly three percent of people who start writing one ever finish. And yet here you are: victorious, exhausted, a bloodstream of pure cortisol. You survived the grind of filling hundreds of pages with thousands of words. You pushed through the horror of reaching forty thousand words only to discover there were at least as many more to go. You endured rewrites that made you doubt your ability to form a coherent sentence.
And now you’re holding a finished manuscript and wondering what, in the name of your heart palpitations, happens next.
Do you send it to agents and wait six to twelve months for someone to maybe, possibly, if the planets align, respond with a polite, “Not for us”? Or do you self-publish and get your story into readers’ hands before the wrinkles you earned writing it develop their own wrinkles?
Self-Publishing Isn’t the Easy Way Out (Despite What Your Uncle Thinks)
Self-publishing gives you complete freedom for everything after you hit <publish>. There’s no publisher arranging reviews, booking interviews, or phoning bookstores. There’s just you—standing proudly beside your book like someone who’s opened a modest tent next to a circus already full of clowns.
But marketing your self-published book doesn’t require you to morph into a garishly dressed, brash salesperson pouncing on strangers with “Have you heard about my novel?” Done correctly, marketing simply helps the right readers discover a book they’ll genuinely enjoy. They already want great stories. Your job is to let them know yours exists. No megaphone required.
Start Marketing Before Your Book Exists. Sounds Weird but it Works
If you begin marketing on launch day, you’re already late. It’s like turning up to a wedding after the cake has been cut and someone’s uncle is already dancing in a way that suggests a medical professional should intervene.
Successfully self-publishing your book starts with building anticipation long before release. They share progress updates, writing frustrations, snippets of dialogue, cover reveals, and occasional photos of themselves glaring at the manuscript as if it stole money from them. The more you bring people along for the journey, the more invested they become. Come launch day, they won’t just know about your book. They’ll feel oddly proud of it, as if they helped raise it.
This is the cornerstone of self-publishing: start early, share generously, and make readers feel part of the beautifully chaotic process.
Why Your Email List Is the One Thing You Should Start Immediately
Social media is unpredictable. Algorithms shift, platforms implode, billionaires rearrange buttons for sport, and posts vanish into the digital abyss. Email, however, is steady, personal, and refreshingly free of algorithmic mood swings.
Offer readers something small in exchange for signing up. Maybe it’s a short story, a deleted scene, a cover preview. Don’t think of it as bribery; it’s hospitality. Once you have their email address, you can share updates, release news, behind-the-scenes chaos, and occasional existential questions about your characters. More importantly, you’ve built a direct line to readers who already like you. And you don’t have to hope an app decides to show them your posts.
Your Sales Page Matters More Than You Think
Your Amazon page is your storefront. It must convince readers (in about the time it takes them to blink) that your book is worth their attention. The cover is your first impression, the handshake, the visual promise. If it looks amateurish, readers flee. Sharp and professional, they might stick around.
The book description then works on your behalf, gently manufacturing curiosity. It should intrigue without sounding like you swallowed a thesaurus during a full moon. Categories and keywords ensure your book shows up in the right digital neighbourhood instead of being lost somewhere between “Experimental 1970s Tax Codes” and “Unclear Metaphors: A Study.”
Think of your sales page as a dating profile: highlight the best parts. Avoid chaos, and present yourself as someone worth spending several hours with.
Reviews Are Validation and a Strange Source of Dread
A book with no reviews is like a restaurant with an empty parking lot. People assume trouble. Reviews signal credibility. Even if the occasional reviewer writes, “I loved everything except the plot, characters, and prose.” don’t panic. These things happen.
Early reviews matter. Reach out to bloggers, genre reviewers, BookTok creators, and passionate readers in your niche. When someone leaves a review, thank them as though they’ve handed you a very polite, well-dressed puppy. Because in marketing terms, they have.
Launch Is Not a One-Day Event
A launch shouldn’t be one dramatic post followed by radio silence. Make it a multi-day event. Share behind-the-scenes moments, highlight early reviews, and talk about your characters like they’re mischievous relatives. If posting feels repetitive, that means you’re doing it correctly. Half your audience didn’t see it the first time anyway. They were lost in cat videos and indistinguishable food-reel content.
Marketing After Launch Is Where Most Writers Disappear. Please Don’t
Books don’t expire. They don’t wilt after ten days. Many successful self-published books grow slowly, gathering momentum through steady, ongoing attention. Continue promoting. Try price drops, ads, newsletters, collaborations, podcast interviews, or (when needed) a cover refresh. A book’s long life is built on consistent, low-drama effort rather than a single, exhausted burst of enthusiasm.
Charisma Not Required. (Thank Goodness)
Self-publishing isn’t publish and pray. It’s a cycle: build, launch, sustain, repeat. You don’t need to be a marketing genius or a charismatic extrovert. You just need to consistently champion the story you worked so hard to create.
Readers already want great books. All you’re doing is stepping into the light long enough to say, “Mine’s over here.” The writing can do the rest.
You made a book. That alone is extraordinary. Now give it the chance to travel. And once it’s out there, do what all slightly unhinged writers do: start the next one. This strange, delightful creative life has no finish line. Only more pages.