If I asked you “What does it take to promote your book successfully?”, I am likely to get one or more of these answers:

• Lots of time
• A reserve of money
• Hiring a publicist
• The skills to market
• A savvy book campaign strategy
• Knowledge of how to do what’s needed
• Courage to get out there
• A publisher’s resources and guidance
• Some good luck
• Key connections or a big network

Then, you would start to focus on the targeted areas that singularly or collectively can brand you, move books, and get your message out there, such as these things:

• Having a great social media following
• Lots of professional and consumer book reviews
• Landing podcast or radio interviews
• Buying influencer testimonials
• Book club adoptions
• A good website
• Making public speaking appearances
• Ad campaign buys
• Applying for book awards
• Guest-posting on blogs

And, if you gave it some more thought, you may offer any of these activities:

• Creating your own blog, podcast, YouTube channel, or newsletter
• Writing articles or op-eds for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, or digital media sites
• Attending conferences/displaying your book
• Finding readers at meetups.com
• Joining writer associations
• Postcard mailings to regional bookstores
• Emails to local libraries
• Soliciting businesses, nonprofits, schools, government agencies, and houses of worship, if relevant
• Contacting gift shops, airport newsstands, and specialty shops
• Doing whatever successful authors in my genre do

As you can see, without even discussing any specifics, dozens of options may be available to you. How much—and how well—you do any and all of them will dictate your level of success.

There are many more things that you can do, including:

• Give books away to get word-of-mouth
• Bundle your books together
• Sell your book with another service, product, or piece of content
• Partner with a company or author to sell your book in conjunction with their book, product, or service
• Sell it on the street like a lemonade stand
• Seek out TV interviews
• Pull off a stunt like filing a lawsuit or starting a public fight to garner news media coverage
• Craft a piece of viral content to share
• Change your name to Stephen King, Zadie Smith, or Colleen Hoover
• Take ownership of your book’s marketing and sales fate with your attitude

If you can’t do some of these things, you can outsource it or ignore it and instead bet heavy on your remaining options. Just don’t pick the most common option: nothing.

You worked hard to research, write, and edit your book. You struggled to find a literary agent or book publisher. You have spent thousands of dollars to publish your book and countless hours on making your book a reality. But you can’t just stop there. Your job is just beginning.

A book is like having a baby. Now you need to nurture, clothe, feed, and send that kid to college. Your work as a parent does not end at birth; it begins with life. So, without complaint, fear, or confusion, commit to your book’s marketing and accept your role here.

OK, so I saved the best for last. You must take responsibility for your book’s life. No one else will or can. You need to develop an opportunistic mindset. Don’t wait for something to happen or to be offered to you. Instead, get on the offensive and determine how to manipulate and generate your own marketing opportunities. This means you may need to:

• Take risks
• Be up for a challenge
• Accept some upfront losses
• Plan aggressively
• Act and speak with confidence
• Always be persistent and persevering
• Believe in your book and speak with conviction
• Remain optimistic and driven
• Know that your breakthrough moment could be coming
• Feel energized and step with some pep
• Have moving goals

What do authors need to do to be successful? They must be ready, willing, and able to do, buy, trade, beg, borrow, or collaborate for what they want and need. Ask for a favor or call one in. Repeat that. It should be your mantra. Feel it in your bones—think it, say it, know it, believe it, and live it.

Doing what others do but better, faster, and more creatively is your starting point.

Do what others don’t believe in or don’t know exists, have fears or insecurities about doing them, lack the ability to do something, or simply are too lazy to do or have some kind of mental block over doing.

Free yourself of misinformation, a lack of information, or a self-imposed limitation. You can break through barriers by simply not putting them up in the first place.

The strategy, attitude, effort, time, and budget that authors need to have to promote a book successfully is up to you. There is no one-size-fits all approach, but there are some model behaviors and best practices worth patterning.

You need to adopt the strategy that fits your mental, intellectual, physical, and financial makeup. For most authors, marketing is not at all in their DNA. Know what you could or should do and then commit to what you can do. Outsource the other areas. And for what you won’t do and can’t afford to pay someone to do, walk away from what is no longer a possibility for you—and give yourself permission to not feel guilt or concern over it.

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