Some other ways to get the word out, even if you’re NOT famous …

Number one, personal appearances. If you don’t follow Jed Hicks (@jjasonhicks) on Instagram, start now. Jed is the author of several massive fantasy fiction epics, including RUINWASTER’S BANE and THE EARTHMIGHT WAR. These works are not backed by a giant publishing house but—here’s the key—they look like it. And Jed promotes them like it.

Jed hires the best-of-the-best to design his book covers. He books himself into festivals. He arranges book signings. He shows up with a giant “Meet the Author”-type poster, a superbly put-together version of his book’s cover that looks like it came from Simon & Schuster. If you stumbled into the bookstore cold, you’d see Jed’s setup and think, “Holy cow, Ernest Hemingway must be here!”

Jed photographs his signings and festival appearances. He films them. Then he posts these on social media. He produces “box mailers” for his books that look better than anything from St. Martin’s or Penguin Random House.

In other words, Jed is single-handedly creating his own brand and establishing himself as its face. 

I wish I had his self-promotion gene!

I have another friend, also a just-starting fiction writer, who takes a different but equally smart tack.

My friend has sought out book-reviewing sites on social media. Most of these are small, but their readerships are passionate and they love books. He also, through his day job, has contacts in fields other than writing. He has reached out to these sources and gotten them to review his book. He then posts these (some are video, others via written word) on IG, Facebook, etc. 

The reviews pop up everywhere. They’re all raves. Many, of course, tell aspects of the novel’s plot and characters. 

In other words, my friend doesn’t have to appear himself or sell himself. His friends and reviewers do it for him.

Of course this takes legwork and lots of “reaching out.” But it’s free and it works.

A third way of getting the word out is premium box mailers. Diana and I learned his from Jack Carr, the bestselling thriller writer. Jack (and Jason noted above) will send out signed copies of their newest books in super-well-designed boxes with a bunch of extra goodies inside. Diana and I did this too, for A MAN AT ARMS and THE DAILY PRESSFIELD.  We sold the books that way as well, at a premium price, through our site, www.sassmediallc.com. We sent box-mailers free, as gifts of respect to friends, but also to people who had followings in areas that the books were aimed at.

We’ll be doing this for THE ARCADIAN as well, but with a special twist. Because THE ARCADIAN is a follow-up to A MAN AT ARMS, featuring the same hero, we’ll send out a “two-pack,” with a Diana-designed sleeve that tells the story of the link between the two books.

The payoff of sending out box mailers is the recipient may do an “unboxing” on his or her social media. In other words, they’re helping get the word out and doing it in the best possible way, as a recommendation from themselves, not from you. 

More “reports from the trenches” to come!