A couple of weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a novelist who was complaining about how hard and expensive it is to get books read today.
She's right. The market is saturated. There are way more books than people who read. Thousands of new books get uploaded to Amazon every day. Does this mean authors should resign themselves to only selling a few copies? Absolutely not. It just means that authors have to spend time and money marketing their books. Even authors who are published traditionally (by a legacy publisher) are expected to promote their books.
There are things you can do with a zero budget to get your books in the hands of readers. Today we're going talk about three: newsletters, social media, and Kickstarter.
📽️While this info is aimed at novelists, it applies to screenwriters too. To get your screenplays read and sold, you must think like a marketer, promoting yourself and your work.
Newsletters
To get readers, people need to know about your books. Finding readers and fans is the first step to building your audience. (Some people call this your author platform.) These are people who are fans of you and your work, in other words, potential buyers. How do you build this platform?
An e-mail newsletter like this one is the easiest and best way to connect with people. As I've talked about before, if you have someone’s e-mail, you will always have a way to communicate with them. Social media apps come and go, but e-mail is forever.
To send bulk emails, you will need to use an e-mail marketing service. There are lots of great e-mail marketing services to choose from. The three I recommend for writers are Kit (which I use. See below), MailerLite, and Substack. Kit and MailerLite are free for up to 1000 subscribers. Substack is always free.
📽️Screenwriters can use a monthly e-mail to stay in touch with agents, managers, and executives. Sharing news on your latest projects keeps you top of mind with people who can hire you.
More on Newsletters:
Read: Step 4 Build Your Email List in How to Turn Your Screenplay into a Novel.
Read: How to Build Your Email List with a Reader Magnet
Learn: Free 5 Day Send Your First Email Challenge helps you build your email list (even before you have finished your book.)
Social Media
Authors, like everyone else, have a love hate relationship with social media. It has some real downsides. You don't have your followers’ contact information, so if your account is closed, or you get hacked, you don't have a way to reach them. The mysterious algorithms aren't showing people's content to their followers regularly. Many authors have forgone social media altogether and concentrate on their e-mail list.
Except for TikTok, there is not a direct correlation between social media followers numbers and book sales, so be mindful of the time you spend posting. When in doubt, spend more time writing your book.
All the negatives aside, social media is a place to promote your books and connect with readers. You don't have to be everywhere, but it is important to be where your readers are. What demographic are you going for? Gen X still loves Facebook. Gen Z romance readers get their book recommendations from TikTok. Instagram and YouTube are great places to share behind the scenes stories about your books. LinkedIn is a place for non-fiction writers to highlight their expertise, but novelists can share news there too.
Readers love to connect with their favorite authors and social media is a great place to do that. Lots of authors have Facebook groups and host live events on Facebook and Zoom. Authors also build communities where they can interact with fans on Facebook and Discord (always free), Slack, Circle, Mighty Networks, and Zoom (all have free plans.)
📽️ Besides sharing project updates, screenwriters can use social media like mini writing samples, showing their voice.
More on Social Media:
Read: Social Media for Writers
Kickstarter
Kickstarter provides a powerful avenue for authors to fund their work and build a dedicated readership. By understanding the platform, crafting compelling campaigns, and engaging with their audience, authors can turn their literary dreams into reality. Kickstarter can be tremendously helpful for authors by collapsing the boundaries between writers and readers, allowing them to thrill backers with new rewards, turn book releases into events, build their brand, test ambitious projects, and understand their audience better.
- Kickstarter has seen significant growth in publishing. The publishing category has grown year-over-year in projects launched, successful projects, and success rate since 2017. Campaigns with at least 25 backers have an 84% success rate.
- The average backing amount per backer has nearly doubled since 2020, showing backers are willing to pay more for special editions and support creative projects. Backer behavior on Kickstarter differs from general book buying, with less focus on bargain prices.
- The biggest mistake authors make is overestimating their ability to reach their audience. Build your audience before your first campaign. A healthy newsletter list gives you a big audience to promote to.
📽️For screenwriters: You can use Kickstarter to publish novels, comics, and board game versions of your projects. And then use the attention generated on Kickstarter to get people interested in your screenplay!
More on Kickstarter:
the creator tips page: kickstarter.com/creators/publishing
Read: Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter by Russell P. Nohlelty and Monica Leonelle
Listen: Kickstarter for Authors with the Kickstarter Head of Publishing on The Creative Penn
Read or Listen: How to Run a Kickstarter Campaign For a Sequel on The Novel Marketing Podcast
Attention Short Story Writers
Spotify is looking for longer short stories! Here's what they're looking for:
- A novelette of approximately 10,000-20,000 words, written specifically for audio.
- A story that sounds great read out loud, featuring sharp characters, atmospheric settings, and engaging dialogue that leaves the listener feeling something and wanting more.
- Focus on these genres: romance, mystery/thriller, or sci-fi/fantasy (cross-genre appeal encouraged, such as romantasy, dark romance thriller, mystery sci-fi, or psychological thriller). Please do not submit erotica or children's content.
If Spotify makes an offer for your audiobook rights and you accept, Spotify will publish the audiobook. Spotify will pay an advance and royalties, and manage all aspects of the production process. You're welcome to promote, market, and distribute the work in other formats (ebook, paper) and platforms (KDP, Ingram Spark, Kobo, etc.).
Check it Out!
Ever wonder what it’s like to work with me? Watch me evaluate pitches on The Dialogue Doctor podcast!
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Hi Lindsey – I just listened to your interview on Novel Marketing. I found it super helpful as I get ready to go to AWP later this week. When I attended the Writers League Texas conference last year, they did a really good job training us for formal pitch situations. Your interview was really helpful because it gave me some tools to practice for an informal situation – for example, when I’m talking to other writers. Thank you!
I am so glad you found it helpful!