Fantasy Book Publishing & Marketing
My Second Meeting With the Publisher (and what I learned)
Two days ago I had a pleasure of having a second call with my publisher. During the first call we have discussed the timeline for my debut novel as well as the general processes behind publishing. But the second call was more focused on the tip of the iceberg - The Marketing.
Contrary to a popular belief (which I actually did not have, but I saw many authors on facebook groups, who do) - writing the book is not “the end game”. While yes, writing the book is probably the biggest part of its success, marketing is the actual force behind the sales.
There is a reason books say “BestSeller” instead of “BestWriter”.
Marketing was one of the parts of publishing the book that I knew was coming. I just didn’t know what to expect. But hey, let’s just write it all down (for myself and you).
But first: Quick Q&A
Q: When should you start working on the marketing?
A: Now seems to be a great moment.
Q: Should I start Marketing my book once it goes on pre-sale?
A: You should start way before this happens.
Q: Can I skip on marketing myself and just run ads?
A: Ads are a form of marketing but I’d argue it is not enough.
Q: What do you mean by “Marketing my book?”
A: Social media, website, blog, in-person events, podcasts, TV, Radio, Newspapers, telling your friends, Book clubs, Screaming to the void.
Now that this is clear: Here’s what I discussed with my publisher:
First things first: my contact person has checked all of my socials and em… let’s call it a “digital print”. This ended in a discussion about:
Changes on my main website:
I won’t lie - I knew I will have to make a lot of changes on my main website. At its current state it is mostly serving as a portfolio for an influencer business. But… I have another webpage that can serve for that. Let’s just say “simplicity is the key”.
This means that I will spend the next… some time making changes on my main website and the newsletter connected with it.
Changes on Social Media:
Ok, I have a lot of social media accounts. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Substack, Patreon, Twitch, etc… Some of them are even doubled.
Yet… none of them is/was purely bookish.
So, I will use my socials that are called lexie.janson (including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Substack, Facebook, and threads) into more bookish socials.
Here’s why:
I am a fantasy reader and I love fantasy as a genre. By making Fantasy content about books I read I can interest people, who like fantasy NOW, to buy my fantasy book LATER.
I can use those accounts for sneak peaks of my book knowing that people following me there follow me for… Bookish content.
I can build a community centered account that will ensure people will get involved into the story of my publishing.
This is the best way to market my work before I have any pre-sales and links to share. Plus it will give me experience in sharing stories, books, and keep me focused on the main goal.
This is something I have actually anticipated and planned for anyway, so we are all good here. No surprises.
Changes aside: what else?
Obviously, my publisher will take care of some of the marketing. The publisher takes care of all the “official and necessary stuff”. This means adding the books to “The British Library” as well as “The Library of Congress”. They will send my books to some of the reviewers, create graphics for socials, share my book in their networks and newsletters, and more.
They will also help me out with in-person interviews and other events I may want to attend. Some of it I could probably do alone, but they obviously have a better reach.
What I will do:
Create a list of influencers and authors I’d like to send my book to for a review. Why? I want to collect the “praise for Crown Of Shadows”. Plus I may be stalking some of my favorite authors.
Make a list of podcasts I would like to be a guest at and try to reach out.
Set up my own accounts on some of the most important pages for authors (goodreads etc.)
Research bookish events and talk to the bookstores once I have my tip sheet on the book.
What’s next?
Next off - I am building up my bookish content on socials I am also building up the newsletter and substack (hello!). The current plan is to share the process behind writing a fantasy novel and publishing it (1 post a week) + book club (writing about my current reads (1 post a week).
My editor will contact me around June, that means I am free to keep working on book 2 and tell you everything about world building and different aspects of creating the world I made for The Crown Of Shadows.
Starts to feel like a lot? Nah…
Release date? Halloween 2025. Pre-sale? Beginning of August. Goal? 2.000 books sold within the pre-sale. Can I do it? Probably!
I’m happy to take you along for this journey!
Let me know what interests you the most, so I can cater to your needs!
xoxo Lexie
