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How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market
Writing a book is hard. Marketing it can be even harder.
Marketing a book in 2021 can seem like a full-time job, what with the crazy number of things authors seem to be expected to do: social media, blog tours, advertising, price promotions, mailing lists, giveaways, you name it.
But here’s a little secret: you don’t need to do all those things to successfully set your book on the path to success. What you need is a solid plan to find the one or two tactics that will work, and start to drive sales… in a minimum amount of time. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this book.
Instead of drowning you in information or inundating you with hundreds of different tactics and strategies that eventually prove fruitless, this book will guide you through a step-by-step framework to find the ones that actually work for you and your book, so that you can start marketing more efficiently.
In particular, you’ll learn:
• How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.;
• How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career;
• How to get Amazon’s Kindle Store to market your book for you;
• How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book;
• How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and
• How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,
After helping over 150,000 authors crack the marketing code through a popular weekly newsletter, Reedsy’s Co-founder Ricardo Fayet is sharing everything he’s learned over the past few years in this beginner-friendly, jargon-free guide to book marketing.
Marketing a book in 2021 can seem like a full-time job, what with the crazy number of things authors seem to be expected to do: social media, blog tours, advertising, price promotions, mailing lists, giveaways, you name it.
But here’s a little secret: you don’t need to do all those things to successfully set your book on the path to success. What you need is a solid plan to find the one or two tactics that will work, and start to drive sales… in a minimum amount of time. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this book.
Instead of drowning you in information or inundating you with hundreds of different tactics and strategies that eventually prove fruitless, this book will guide you through a step-by-step framework to find the ones that actually work for you and your book, so that you can start marketing more efficiently.
In particular, you’ll learn:
• How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.;
• How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career;
• How to get Amazon’s Kindle Store to market your book for you;
• How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book;
• How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and
• How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,
After helping over 150,000 authors crack the marketing code through a popular weekly newsletter, Reedsy’s Co-founder Ricardo Fayet is sharing everything he’s learned over the past few years in this beginner-friendly, jargon-free guide to book marketing.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
1308 people are currently reading
660 people want to read
About the author
Ricardo Fayet
2 books77 followersRicardo Fayet is one of the four founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world’s top publishing talent—from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He’s the author of several Reedsy Learning courses on marketing and a regular presenter at several prestigious writers’ conferences: NINC, RWA Australia, and The Self Publishing Show Live, among others.
He oversees the marketing for all Reedsy products—Marketplace, Book Editor, Learning, Discovery—and is a big SEO and Facebook advertising enthusiast.
In his spare time, he enjoys watching football (or “soccer” as y’all call it over there), and carrying tactical analyses to explain why his favorite team won, as well as referee mistake analyses when his team loses.
You can sign up to his weekly book marketing newsletter here: http://rdsy.me/newsletter
He oversees the marketing for all Reedsy products—Marketplace, Book Editor, Learning, Discovery—and is a big SEO and Facebook advertising enthusiast.
In his spare time, he enjoys watching football (or “soccer” as y’all call it over there), and carrying tactical analyses to explain why his favorite team won, as well as referee mistake analyses when his team loses.
You can sign up to his weekly book marketing newsletter here: http://rdsy.me/newsletter
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
February 3, 2021
I should have read this book sooner! That’s one of the first things I had in mind as I read Ricardo Fayet’s “How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market”. This is a reference material that could save authors both time and money in trying to search for the best ways to market one’s book. For independent authors, this is a must-have guide that’s brimming with information and practical advice coming from years of expertise and experience.
Just when I thought I’ve tried it all, here comes a book that seems to be telling me not to give up yet. Indeed, after reading it, I have highlighted several ways I could look into to keep on trying. It’s as though I have discovered a well of knowledge that could assist me each time I want to improve my book sales.
I can attest to some of the tips given in the book. I have tried them previously and they worked for me. Now I can’t wait to try some more hoping I could finally achieve the breakthrough I’ve been longing for.
This book gave me hope. In big and little ways, it is educational and inspiring. Whether one is a fiction or a non-fiction writer, one can benefit from the basics as well as the more detailed steps one could take to increase book sales.
Written in an easy-to-follow narrative, the tone used here is both professional and personal, informative yet not without a wholesome sense of humor. The examples given were clear and easy to remember. The logic behind each piece of advice is well-founded and backed up by reliable sources.
This book is right on track in pointing to one of the main concerns troubling writers, that the market for books is already saturated. After reading it, however, one could have a new perspective so that one could finally see how it is still possible to sell one’s books despite the crowded market.
In the end, it’s not what has already been achieved by other writers, it’s what one could still do.
This is more than a marketing guide, it’s a self-help and inspirational book that can make a big difference in a writer’s life. I can’t help but remember the same impact Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point” has impressed upon me.
In that perspective, I’d like to end my review with one of my favorite quotes in Malcolm’s book: “Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push – in just the right place – it can be tipped.”
Just when I thought I’ve tried it all, here comes a book that seems to be telling me not to give up yet. Indeed, after reading it, I have highlighted several ways I could look into to keep on trying. It’s as though I have discovered a well of knowledge that could assist me each time I want to improve my book sales.
I can attest to some of the tips given in the book. I have tried them previously and they worked for me. Now I can’t wait to try some more hoping I could finally achieve the breakthrough I’ve been longing for.
This book gave me hope. In big and little ways, it is educational and inspiring. Whether one is a fiction or a non-fiction writer, one can benefit from the basics as well as the more detailed steps one could take to increase book sales.
Written in an easy-to-follow narrative, the tone used here is both professional and personal, informative yet not without a wholesome sense of humor. The examples given were clear and easy to remember. The logic behind each piece of advice is well-founded and backed up by reliable sources.
This book is right on track in pointing to one of the main concerns troubling writers, that the market for books is already saturated. After reading it, however, one could have a new perspective so that one could finally see how it is still possible to sell one’s books despite the crowded market.
In the end, it’s not what has already been achieved by other writers, it’s what one could still do.
This is more than a marketing guide, it’s a self-help and inspirational book that can make a big difference in a writer’s life. I can’t help but remember the same impact Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point” has impressed upon me.
In that perspective, I’d like to end my review with one of my favorite quotes in Malcolm’s book: “Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push – in just the right place – it can be tipped.”
August 15, 2021
Let’s start with the basics: ‘How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market’ by Ricardo Fayet is not for an optimistic writer who wants to publish a book for family/friends and earn some money in the process. No, the book’s target audience is those who wish writing to be their full-time profession. This decision, in its turn, leads to the obvious question of how to write and sell enough to sustain yourself.
In my naivety, I wanted to stop reading after a chapter about a professional writer’s mindset. The author’s main advice is to write what the audience buys more. Just research the market, calculate potential or competitive niches that sell well and start writing. Easy-peasy. You can write what you like or about what you know, but that doesn’t guarantee financial stability.
The most popular market now is fantasy. The most popular form of writing is in series. I hate both.
Why did I read the book till the end (even the author’s bio)? The most outstanding non-fiction book of this year for me was Chuck Palahniuk’s book on writing. His main advice was the opposite of Fayet’s: write despite what people think of you. A release of his first book went unnoticed, and only one-two readers showed up at book signing sessions. And he returned to working in a factory. And writing. Have you heard of the “Fight Club?” I bet you have, even if you didn’t watch the movie or read the book.
Both Fayet’s and Palahniuk’s examples point to one distressing fact: you can’t start earning right away after publishing your first book. If you know nothing about marketing, the possible scenario is that your first book’s sales will stop after all friends and family members will purchase their copies.
Ricardo Fayet leads newbies in writing through all stages of marketing, starting long before a book’s release. The book is a practical planner with mathematical data, examples from his experience, and helpful links to other books in the field. Though the links and data may go out of date in a year or two, the principles behind the market research presented in the book will stay applicable for a long time.
I’d recommend the book as the starting point for any author who wants to be a successful and decently paid self-publisher.
In my naivety, I wanted to stop reading after a chapter about a professional writer’s mindset. The author’s main advice is to write what the audience buys more. Just research the market, calculate potential or competitive niches that sell well and start writing. Easy-peasy. You can write what you like or about what you know, but that doesn’t guarantee financial stability.
The most popular market now is fantasy. The most popular form of writing is in series. I hate both.
Why did I read the book till the end (even the author’s bio)? The most outstanding non-fiction book of this year for me was Chuck Palahniuk’s book on writing. His main advice was the opposite of Fayet’s: write despite what people think of you. A release of his first book went unnoticed, and only one-two readers showed up at book signing sessions. And he returned to working in a factory. And writing. Have you heard of the “Fight Club?” I bet you have, even if you didn’t watch the movie or read the book.
Both Fayet’s and Palahniuk’s examples point to one distressing fact: you can’t start earning right away after publishing your first book. If you know nothing about marketing, the possible scenario is that your first book’s sales will stop after all friends and family members will purchase their copies.
Ricardo Fayet leads newbies in writing through all stages of marketing, starting long before a book’s release. The book is a practical planner with mathematical data, examples from his experience, and helpful links to other books in the field. Though the links and data may go out of date in a year or two, the principles behind the market research presented in the book will stay applicable for a long time.
I’d recommend the book as the starting point for any author who wants to be a successful and decently paid self-publisher.
March 21, 2021
Being an author isn't easy. Sometimes it feel like there's a million different things that you have to do in order to be successful. You've probably gotten plenty of vague sales advice from fellow authors and seen writer ads claiming to give you their 'secrets to success', only to be disappointed in your results.
I'm something of a skeptic when it comes to these things, but I knew that I wanted to make a change, so I gave this book a shot. Man am I glad I did!
This book goes over marketing as a whole in the current climate and does a hell of a job.
From mailing lists to conversions to the big players in the book world, this book covered a ton of material. I personally feel the most valuable thing I learned was the differences between Amazon, Facebook, and BookBub, as well as how their ads work. The author even gives some really great examples of ads for reference that made the information very easy to visualize and digest.
I'm not going to lie, there were moments when I wanted to throw this book out the window. Sometimes all the information just felt like too much, but what this book gives is an honest evaluation of book marketing in the US and the caveats inherent. You'll probably need to take a breather here and there, but I found a lot of great insights and easy ways to improve my game that I'll be working on for the next few weeks, and that's just the beginning.
I highly suggest taking notes and marking things that stick out to you to come back to later.
Is this the perfect roadmap to marketing? No, but I don't think one exists. What this book does do is educate about book marketing and ready the reader to discover their own path, one that works specifically for them.
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out on other books by this author in the future.
Best of luck to all fellow writers out there. You can do this!
I'm something of a skeptic when it comes to these things, but I knew that I wanted to make a change, so I gave this book a shot. Man am I glad I did!
This book goes over marketing as a whole in the current climate and does a hell of a job.
From mailing lists to conversions to the big players in the book world, this book covered a ton of material. I personally feel the most valuable thing I learned was the differences between Amazon, Facebook, and BookBub, as well as how their ads work. The author even gives some really great examples of ads for reference that made the information very easy to visualize and digest.
I'm not going to lie, there were moments when I wanted to throw this book out the window. Sometimes all the information just felt like too much, but what this book gives is an honest evaluation of book marketing in the US and the caveats inherent. You'll probably need to take a breather here and there, but I found a lot of great insights and easy ways to improve my game that I'll be working on for the next few weeks, and that's just the beginning.
I highly suggest taking notes and marking things that stick out to you to come back to later.
Is this the perfect roadmap to marketing? No, but I don't think one exists. What this book does do is educate about book marketing and ready the reader to discover their own path, one that works specifically for them.
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out on other books by this author in the future.
Best of luck to all fellow writers out there. You can do this!
January 1, 2023
This is really a guide "How to be the kind of author every reader will hate", at least if the American book bubble is anything like the German one. But let me go into detail.
First of all, I'm mostly a reader, reading up to 200 books a year, then I'm a freelancer working (mostly) for a small publishing house, and at the very least I'm an author (but one using the pay what you want approach, because with the current Amazon politics, where readers can read the book completely, still get their money back and the author has to pay a fee on top, publishing conventionally is NOT an option for people who don't earn a lot of money). Anyway, I was mostly reading it to see what I can do to enhance the sales of my client any further. Well, that was a waste of time.
1. Review from a reader's point of view
This book is telling you to be the worst author ever, the absolute bane of every reader. Why? Because you are told how to clog the Amazon store with your books - while WRITING THE EXACT SAME SHIT THAT ALREADY SELLS! And worse, you're told to NOT use tags. The author of this book has probably never talked to actual readers before - clearly, as Twitter is not even mentioned in the strategies, even though that's where a huge part of the international reader bubble meets. (Well, pre Elon, but still.)
Every day you can see a long list of people complaining about how by now they can only find new stuff to read on Archive of our own (a fanfiction platform), both because there is a lot more diversity in tones, themes, styles, tropes, ... and BECAUSE TAGS AND FILTERING THEM IS KEY TO FIND STUFF YOU REALLY WANT.
Also, for neurodivergent readers it can be absolutely necessary to know what they get into. And because blurbs are usually lacking any sort of information - concentrating on one aspect the author thinks is most important, which it usually isn't - there needs to be a good tag list on top of it.
Though I have to admit, this book helped me understand, why I simply can't find anything to read on Amazon, unless I already come there with the exact title. (And I mean exact, because when you write 'Star Trek' in the search, Amazon thinks you might be interested in Star Wars....) The search doesn't seem programmed to be intuitive to at least my personal brand of neurodivergence. Explains why I couldn't find anything there, even if my life depended on it.
2. Review from the point of view of someone working in publishing with books they haven't written themselves
Not helpful at all. If you want to mostly sell on your own publishing house page (because the royalties are higher there), or (like me) live in a country where everybody uses AdBlock and blocks accounts using sponsored postings on Social Media, this book has NOT A SINGLE USEFUL SENTENCE FOR YOU. There's not a single word on how to be a brand on Twitter, Insta or Mastodon. Not a word on how to create good visuals for your content. Not a word on how to suggest people should buy your book or at least make it visible, without using paid ads. (Those are exactly the things my client DOES, successfully so.)
3. Review from an author's point of view
This book is only for authors who want to write only to make money. ONLY to make money. Who don't have anything to say, who don't write - like I do - because nobody else writes what they REALLY want to read or because they're fed up with the existing trends and same old shit. This book is also not written for pantsers. You have to be a hardcore plotter to even find the tiniest bit that you might be able to use in here. Also, you have to be okay with having your book look and sound like the other high selling books of your niche - which means, that you have to be okay with writing something that doesn't add anything to the genre. You have to be okay with being completely interchangable.
And you have to keep in mind that you should only address casual readers that read only a few books per year, because readers like me, who read A LOT, are usually looking for something new and different, because even well loved tropes grow tiresome after ten or twenty books.
4. A word from Europe
Dear US authors - some of the advice in the book CAN be illegal if you have Europeans among your readers - especially those in the mailing list. The fine for some of it can be a few millions of euros. Get yourself a lawyer who knows about GDPR BEFORE starting your website - because the website itself has to uphold GDPR as well, if you don't geoblock Europeans -, and have them help you through every step of putting up both the website and the mailing list.
And really, keep in mind that we Europeans are different than you. A lot of us who read more than a few books per year try to avoid Amazon, we block ads, and, as I said, we're mostly on Twitter, not Facebook. There has been a huge Facebook exodus when the GDPR became active law - oh, and when silver surfers and right wingers discovered it as their main platform.
Final line: Please, authors, DO use tags. Look at AO3 and learn from it. Thank you.
First of all, I'm mostly a reader, reading up to 200 books a year, then I'm a freelancer working (mostly) for a small publishing house, and at the very least I'm an author (but one using the pay what you want approach, because with the current Amazon politics, where readers can read the book completely, still get their money back and the author has to pay a fee on top, publishing conventionally is NOT an option for people who don't earn a lot of money). Anyway, I was mostly reading it to see what I can do to enhance the sales of my client any further. Well, that was a waste of time.
1. Review from a reader's point of view
This book is telling you to be the worst author ever, the absolute bane of every reader. Why? Because you are told how to clog the Amazon store with your books - while WRITING THE EXACT SAME SHIT THAT ALREADY SELLS! And worse, you're told to NOT use tags. The author of this book has probably never talked to actual readers before - clearly, as Twitter is not even mentioned in the strategies, even though that's where a huge part of the international reader bubble meets. (Well, pre Elon, but still.)
Every day you can see a long list of people complaining about how by now they can only find new stuff to read on Archive of our own (a fanfiction platform), both because there is a lot more diversity in tones, themes, styles, tropes, ... and BECAUSE TAGS AND FILTERING THEM IS KEY TO FIND STUFF YOU REALLY WANT.
Also, for neurodivergent readers it can be absolutely necessary to know what they get into. And because blurbs are usually lacking any sort of information - concentrating on one aspect the author thinks is most important, which it usually isn't - there needs to be a good tag list on top of it.
Though I have to admit, this book helped me understand, why I simply can't find anything to read on Amazon, unless I already come there with the exact title. (And I mean exact, because when you write 'Star Trek' in the search, Amazon thinks you might be interested in Star Wars....) The search doesn't seem programmed to be intuitive to at least my personal brand of neurodivergence. Explains why I couldn't find anything there, even if my life depended on it.
2. Review from the point of view of someone working in publishing with books they haven't written themselves
Not helpful at all. If you want to mostly sell on your own publishing house page (because the royalties are higher there), or (like me) live in a country where everybody uses AdBlock and blocks accounts using sponsored postings on Social Media, this book has NOT A SINGLE USEFUL SENTENCE FOR YOU. There's not a single word on how to be a brand on Twitter, Insta or Mastodon. Not a word on how to create good visuals for your content. Not a word on how to suggest people should buy your book or at least make it visible, without using paid ads. (Those are exactly the things my client DOES, successfully so.)
3. Review from an author's point of view
This book is only for authors who want to write only to make money. ONLY to make money. Who don't have anything to say, who don't write - like I do - because nobody else writes what they REALLY want to read or because they're fed up with the existing trends and same old shit. This book is also not written for pantsers. You have to be a hardcore plotter to even find the tiniest bit that you might be able to use in here. Also, you have to be okay with having your book look and sound like the other high selling books of your niche - which means, that you have to be okay with writing something that doesn't add anything to the genre. You have to be okay with being completely interchangable.
And you have to keep in mind that you should only address casual readers that read only a few books per year, because readers like me, who read A LOT, are usually looking for something new and different, because even well loved tropes grow tiresome after ten or twenty books.
4. A word from Europe
Dear US authors - some of the advice in the book CAN be illegal if you have Europeans among your readers - especially those in the mailing list. The fine for some of it can be a few millions of euros. Get yourself a lawyer who knows about GDPR BEFORE starting your website - because the website itself has to uphold GDPR as well, if you don't geoblock Europeans -, and have them help you through every step of putting up both the website and the mailing list.
And really, keep in mind that we Europeans are different than you. A lot of us who read more than a few books per year try to avoid Amazon, we block ads, and, as I said, we're mostly on Twitter, not Facebook. There has been a huge Facebook exodus when the GDPR became active law - oh, and when silver surfers and right wingers discovered it as their main platform.
Final line: Please, authors, DO use tags. Look at AO3 and learn from it. Thank you.
Read
February 27, 2023Highly recommend if you’re interested in self publishing and you have no idea what you’re doing when it comes to marketing your book.
November 30, 2022
Full review to come
February 5, 2021
Not a whole lot of new information if you’ve read other book marketing books and have been around indie author circles.
But if you’re new to the indie game, this is the one I’d recommend because as of early 2021 it is the most relevant, up to date, and consolidated between everything from being exclusive Amazon vs going wide, or what to do with ads and book promos and all that sort of thing, or the importance of a newsletter, or if you should do preorders or not.
But if you’re new to the indie game, this is the one I’d recommend because as of early 2021 it is the most relevant, up to date, and consolidated between everything from being exclusive Amazon vs going wide, or what to do with ads and book promos and all that sort of thing, or the importance of a newsletter, or if you should do preorders or not.
February 22, 2025
Disappointing
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market, by Ricardo Fayet was disappointing. While there are several good tips, the book ultimately comes down to a big commercial for reedsy.
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market, by Ricardo Fayet was disappointing. While there are several good tips, the book ultimately comes down to a big commercial for reedsy.
February 11, 2021
Really useful book, especially for someone just on the verge of publishing my first novel. Ricardo Fayet's position is to provide guidance for people who are trying to maximize revenues as a writer. Mine is not, I am more interested in maximizing readership, or at least developing readership. The two goals are not incompatible, however, and Fayet provides tons of suggestions that can be adapted to different circumstances. And he starts his book in the right way, by focussing on the broader ideas, although his approach is to analyse the market, find what sells well, and proposes one writes for those markets. I'm sure this will work for some folk. But I write what I want to. Still, the information he provides is still extraordinarily useful to help me figure how best to promote the books I have written. How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market helped me write my blurb, figure out my keywords and categories for Amazon, work out how many advance review copies to send out to prospective reviewers, the importance of sites like Bookbub, the process involved in developing a newsletter and mailing lists, and provided information on how Amazon works, Apple Books, Google Play, etc., as well as a ton of other advice. I have never understood advertising on any of these platforms, but he provides extensive suggestions on how to make that work as well. The only caveat, of course, is these markets are changing relatively quickly, something he himself makes abundantly clear, so the book risks aging relatively quickly. He will need to update it frequently or it will lose its value over time. Still, for the next few years, this will be one of the more important orientation books for today's publishing world, especially for indie writers. Highly recommended.
February 6, 2022
Good marketing book for authors with lots of practical tips, including tips on how to set up online ads. This is a must read for new authors.
*** For anyone looking for additional book marketing tips, I recommend an author guide called SMART MARKETING FOR INDIE AUTHORS.
*** For anyone looking for additional book marketing tips, I recommend an author guide called SMART MARKETING FOR INDIE AUTHORS.
April 3, 2021
I learned a great deal in this book. I'm not 'overperforming', but I plan to do so!
I didn't understand everything, but I'm getting there. I plan to pick it back up in 3 months and see all the new things I have learned!
I didn't understand everything, but I'm getting there. I plan to pick it back up in 3 months and see all the new things I have learned!
April 23, 2022
This book is referred to as a guide and that it most certainly is. It is a hefty chunk of book marketing material for a self-published author. Now brand new authors may find this book overwhelming and then there are die hard research and book marketing fanatics who will love it.
You have to be brutally honest with yourself when buying this book. Are you brand new and what to only learn the basics at this point? Then choose another indie author self publishing book. I have a few years of self study under my belt and I love researching and have a National Diploma from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, so this book was right up my alley. I got to work making notes and testing out some of the concepts. But it is by no means a quick read, especially if you want to start applying these techniques. If I was new to the self publishing world, this book would be put on the shelf with books that I want to get to someday, but not now.
The book does serve as a marketing tool for the company with several links and references to some of their blogs and products. But each one of those links delves deeper into the topic, which means that you have a mini search engine in your hands that leads you to primarily their own content. But I am okay with that as Reedsy packs a lot of value into their blogs.
It is by no means a quick read and so it slowed down my progress in my goal to read and review ten self-published books by the end of the month.
My recommendation is to skim at first and then settle in and digest something you need to master straight away. Then you can work through one section at a time without feeling like you are just never going to learn all this stuff.
I highly recommend this book for those who love deep dives into the self publishing world.
You have to be brutally honest with yourself when buying this book. Are you brand new and what to only learn the basics at this point? Then choose another indie author self publishing book. I have a few years of self study under my belt and I love researching and have a National Diploma from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, so this book was right up my alley. I got to work making notes and testing out some of the concepts. But it is by no means a quick read, especially if you want to start applying these techniques. If I was new to the self publishing world, this book would be put on the shelf with books that I want to get to someday, but not now.
The book does serve as a marketing tool for the company with several links and references to some of their blogs and products. But each one of those links delves deeper into the topic, which means that you have a mini search engine in your hands that leads you to primarily their own content. But I am okay with that as Reedsy packs a lot of value into their blogs.
It is by no means a quick read and so it slowed down my progress in my goal to read and review ten self-published books by the end of the month.
My recommendation is to skim at first and then settle in and digest something you need to master straight away. Then you can work through one section at a time without feeling like you are just never going to learn all this stuff.
I highly recommend this book for those who love deep dives into the self publishing world.
August 12, 2021
I’ve read a few marketing guides over recent months, but this is one of the most comprehensive books yet. Author, Ricardo Fayet, opens the discussion with adopting the right mindset, which is a crucial and underrated part of the marketing process. Other topics include knowing your market, having the right product for your target audience, creating a website and mail list. From there, Fayet discusses advertising, promotion sites, understanding Amazon, audiobooks, box sets and book translations.
A fair bit of time is spent on how Amazon and Amazon advertising works, which makes sense given that they sell more ebooks than anyone else, and it’s worth reading. In fact, the entire book should be read. It’ll help some readers decide just how serious they want to be about turning their craft into a full-time, income-earning business. If they decide to plunge in, then this book offers plenty of tips on how and where to invest their time and money. Wisely, Fayet doesn’t recommend trying everything at once.
He also notes that some of the topics are basically introductions that will require further research, Facebook and BookBub advertising, for example. He provides a number of recommended books for further reading, and promotes reedsy.com’s services, which is the company he founded. This is the kind of guide you’ll want to refer to often. It’s current and focuses on what Fayet has found to be most effective through his and his clients’ experiences. Highly recommended.
A fair bit of time is spent on how Amazon and Amazon advertising works, which makes sense given that they sell more ebooks than anyone else, and it’s worth reading. In fact, the entire book should be read. It’ll help some readers decide just how serious they want to be about turning their craft into a full-time, income-earning business. If they decide to plunge in, then this book offers plenty of tips on how and where to invest their time and money. Wisely, Fayet doesn’t recommend trying everything at once.
He also notes that some of the topics are basically introductions that will require further research, Facebook and BookBub advertising, for example. He provides a number of recommended books for further reading, and promotes reedsy.com’s services, which is the company he founded. This is the kind of guide you’ll want to refer to often. It’s current and focuses on what Fayet has found to be most effective through his and his clients’ experiences. Highly recommended.
January 28, 2021
Wow! As an indie author drowning in an ocean of books, courses and websites offering advice on marketing, this gem is a virtual life raft. Right from the start, it provides no-nonsense advice on making sure your book is in the best possible shape (cover design, anyone?), before diving into everything from blurb-writing tips, going 'wide' versus exclusive, building a mailing list and — my particular bête noire — advertising. Yes, I've devoted days and more dollars than I care to count trying to master the various ad platforms, and talk of 'monitoring' and 'testing' still brings me out in a rash, but… having all this information in one volume will make life a little easier. She said optimistically. All joking aside, it really will be my constant companion as I attempt once more to gain new readers. Now I'm off to write a brand-new series… Highly recommended.
December 20, 2022
Excellent, engaging starter guide on the subject. Often this kind of books are only written to promote paid courses by the author, but not in this case. The self-promotion is kept to a bare minimum, a welcome change.
July 22, 2023
Lots of useful information for indie authors. Ricardo touches on all critical areas from book creation and design, to marketing, with details and lots of broad strokes. A very good starting point for interested writers.
April 11, 2021
Plenty of information.
December 2, 2021
Supremely useful. I keep going back to this resource for guidance. Readable and practical. The advice covers a wide array of marketing concerns--hooking a Book Bub featured deal, advertising on Amazon, Bub Bub, and Facebook, enhancing your mailing list, and more.
March 7, 2022
Great collection of information.
July 4, 2022
Excellent resource with clear to understand advice.
Covers everything an author might want to know about marketing.
Covers everything an author might want to know about marketing.
May 14, 2021
Helpful insights and useful tips.
Covered a wide range and gave good advice with actionable tips. Easy to read. I read it from cover to cover in two days.
Covered a wide range and gave good advice with actionable tips. Easy to read. I read it from cover to cover in two days.
June 14, 2021
Some of this was remedial for someone who's been around as long as me, but I picked up a few tricks in the advertising section I hadn't been aware of. This would make a great overall guide for new/newish authors.
November 11, 2025
I have a lot of mixed opinions (and fact checking) about ‘How to Market a Book’ and will get into specifics. So buckle in:
There is some questionable advice in here... writing to market, finding you niche, rapid release, while great in terms of marketing a product (specific to Amazon) it ignores creativity, literary skill, and promotes churning out books quickly - more than likely leading to an inferior product. Nowhere did it mention anything about the writing or editing process (or the cost involved with that.)
And the concept of “read through:” I've read authors embracing this marketing model and the majority of which I've added to a black list after a few titles because it clear they are all about mass producing multiple titles with poor developmental editing, poor copy editing, and poor cover art. It's all about getting the highest return on the least amount of effort. It's this kind of marketing advice that lends to the reputation that self-published titles on Amazon are low quality and glutting up the market with promise of riches.
However there was decent advice on Amazon page listings (book conversion funnel.)
We get some good and awful advice about book covers – reedsy/Ricardo Fayet focuses more on eye appeal... making your cover stand out rather than focusing on marrying it to the content of your story, its tone, and genre. (Or even analysing current marketing trends in your genre.) I've seen hundreds of books get rated lower in reviews because the cover promised something different to what's actually in the book. Think of those erotic romances with cartoon couples on the covers, children pick them up thinking it's marketed towards them: be a bit more discerning with your cover art.
Thank goodness they advise you to use a professional cover artist.
The genre expectations for cover art is great advice for some, but it's not the rule. There have been many books who bucked the trends and have been all the better for it.
It confusing advice - design a cover that stands out, but make it similar to other new releases in your genre. Kind of leaves you nowhere.
Testing designs and getting customer feedback is the best advice for this section talking about cover design.
Blurb writing advice was mostly atrocious. There was no actual practical advice here, some examples sure... I'd recommend a resource like ‘Saves the Cat!’ where you are given a formula for writing a blurb based on storycraft.
The tip of using keywords is a good one if you can work them into your blurb from a marketing standpoint - but I cringe at the thought of it being the main goal, it could leave your blurb feeling gimmicky.
It’s odd getting feedback was never mentioned here - I feel this could be important. Write a few versions, see what gets the best response from your intended demographic. Market research people! Isn't this meant to be around marketing book?
The discussion about reviews in reference to marketing a book: 12 reviews... just gobbledygook! An author has no control over reviews and shouldn't be stressing about them. From a marketing perspective the only reason to look at reviews is to collect some great quotes for a marketing campaign. This gave me the willies as it felt like it was crossing into fake reviews or paid reviews (which is grounds for having your book de-listed on Amazon.)
Street team:
Some mixed advice here: not a lot of it to really help source a proper Street team. Friends, yeah... they most definitely will hype you up, but the algorithm on Amazon hides reviews from people connected to you (through social media.) You’re better off joining a discord server, substack, or book club to get your Street Team (and beta readers.)
Again you want people from your target market demographic. A great resource on this topic has been Jenna Moreci.
Editorial reviews: This section was pathetic and misguided. If you have a Tip Sheet and Press Release (like every marketing campaign should,) it is easily achievable to get an editorial review.
Cover quotes: The advice feels outdated. Polls, surveys, and market research have been done on cover quotes and it has been proven that they do not influence sales! The amount of time you spend contacting, building relationships with a person of influence for a cover quote could be better spent elsewhere. It's more a case of an added extra that is going out of style.
Amazon A+ Content - perfection!
I've definitely either added to cart, or at least added to wishlist where the A+ content has been the tipping point in my interest for a title. Definitely spend time creating and utilising the service - and do some market research/get feedback from your demographic so what you post gives you the best conversion rate.
‘How to Market a Book’ is missing a huge chunk of marketing fundamentals, instead focusing on a small number of platforms (chiefly e-book platforms) and limited digital marketing. There was no advice on marketing through different forms of digital and social media. No discussion on zeroing in on people of influence, or press/media releases. No basics in structuring an actual marketing campaign.
I was frustrated and let down, the title of this book had me thinking this would be a great how-to resource for marketing my book, but it only covers a small section of marketing activities, mostly focused on Amazon (which while a big chunk of the publishing market, it misses a lot of the general public in funnelling traffic to Amazon for sales... or to a different sales platform, or even direct sales) So while informative, this was severely lacking in practical measures to market a book. More like a specific part to market your book on Amazon, after you've completed a whole lot of other stuff.
P160 if your book isn't ranking well on a site's because its search algorithm has changed, rename your books... such bad advice! New ISBN, new cover art, and printing costs. What is this guy on? For a marketing book to suggest this where you lose your already established brand and market recognition is ludicrous. Possibly for a re-launch years down the track with updated book cover art.
The Price Promotion chapter is skewed towards amazon kindle... (or other digital platforms) yes, it’s a good tactic to get on best seller lists, but is assumes you are only interested in turnover, not literature. It also assumes you are writing multiple books, so you can sacrifice the profit margin on one title to boost the sales funnel to other titles (again bias towards series.) This is more a tactic to boost discoverabiliity. It doesn't discuss any other types of price promotion tactics in the industry. What about brick-and-mortar bookstores, independent local book stores where you can run a price promotion in conjunction with an in-person signing event or other special event/day. You could run a price promotion with a group or other authors, or in conjunction with another new release... I'm getting really frustrated with the short-sightedness of this book. It does not take into consideration the industry it is trying to educate authors in marketing for.
This book is great for very niche, very specific examples, (*cough* just Amazon *cough*) but not for your overall book marketing strategy. It's ignored, or given incorrect, and even at times, the opposite advice for what you should be doing when implementing a marketing strategy.
Getting a BookBub deal chapter: Very informative, but it really only applies once you have become established - for your first new release it's useless. There is a cost involved, and highly competitive. You'll already need a polished marketing plan in place that is successful. So this is less a marketing strategy for the planning stage, and more an added bonus for after you books release and some level of success (and reviews)
And again the Re-branding suggestion in the face of failure. It's flippant advice, and if you are doing your marketing strategy properly in the first place, obsolete; and if you have done your due diligence and still not succeeding, a re-brand is time and cost expensive. The author is obviously thinking on a different scale to a proper book marketing specialist.
Then we get to the Advertising platforms sections and Fayet brings up the concept of 'read through' again. The assumption that you are starting to market for the first time with a series or franchise... it doesn't make sense. You'd pick this book up to start planning your marketing strategy before you publish your first book, not after you've already published a series (or multiple series) because again this focus is biased on established authors looking to maximize sales on an already established back catalogue through discounting the debut of a series to boost sales on the rest of the series. A great concept, and give specific examples, but feels like advice for those authors who've already been in the trenches for some time and not seeing any success and are relying on churning out book titles in a rapid release format.
The information in the last third of the book follows the same vein: technical discussion and how-to information regarding various platforms in funnelling your sales and readership. Again, for established writers with a series (or many) under their belt. It did nothing for me in planning out a marketing strategy as a debut author and missed out on so much.
I appreciate this book for specific information of certain topics - primarily Amazon in the US - but the title is misleading and it was only a small piece of the puzzle of what I needed to form a marketing strategy for my first venture into book marketing. (Parts out of date, or plainly incorrect.)
There is some questionable advice in here... writing to market, finding you niche, rapid release, while great in terms of marketing a product (specific to Amazon) it ignores creativity, literary skill, and promotes churning out books quickly - more than likely leading to an inferior product. Nowhere did it mention anything about the writing or editing process (or the cost involved with that.)
And the concept of “read through:” I've read authors embracing this marketing model and the majority of which I've added to a black list after a few titles because it clear they are all about mass producing multiple titles with poor developmental editing, poor copy editing, and poor cover art. It's all about getting the highest return on the least amount of effort. It's this kind of marketing advice that lends to the reputation that self-published titles on Amazon are low quality and glutting up the market with promise of riches.
However there was decent advice on Amazon page listings (book conversion funnel.)
We get some good and awful advice about book covers – reedsy/Ricardo Fayet focuses more on eye appeal... making your cover stand out rather than focusing on marrying it to the content of your story, its tone, and genre. (Or even analysing current marketing trends in your genre.) I've seen hundreds of books get rated lower in reviews because the cover promised something different to what's actually in the book. Think of those erotic romances with cartoon couples on the covers, children pick them up thinking it's marketed towards them: be a bit more discerning with your cover art.
Thank goodness they advise you to use a professional cover artist.
The genre expectations for cover art is great advice for some, but it's not the rule. There have been many books who bucked the trends and have been all the better for it.
It confusing advice - design a cover that stands out, but make it similar to other new releases in your genre. Kind of leaves you nowhere.
Testing designs and getting customer feedback is the best advice for this section talking about cover design.
Blurb writing advice was mostly atrocious. There was no actual practical advice here, some examples sure... I'd recommend a resource like ‘Saves the Cat!’ where you are given a formula for writing a blurb based on storycraft.
The tip of using keywords is a good one if you can work them into your blurb from a marketing standpoint - but I cringe at the thought of it being the main goal, it could leave your blurb feeling gimmicky.
It’s odd getting feedback was never mentioned here - I feel this could be important. Write a few versions, see what gets the best response from your intended demographic. Market research people! Isn't this meant to be around marketing book?
The discussion about reviews in reference to marketing a book: 12 reviews... just gobbledygook! An author has no control over reviews and shouldn't be stressing about them. From a marketing perspective the only reason to look at reviews is to collect some great quotes for a marketing campaign. This gave me the willies as it felt like it was crossing into fake reviews or paid reviews (which is grounds for having your book de-listed on Amazon.)
Street team:
Some mixed advice here: not a lot of it to really help source a proper Street team. Friends, yeah... they most definitely will hype you up, but the algorithm on Amazon hides reviews from people connected to you (through social media.) You’re better off joining a discord server, substack, or book club to get your Street Team (and beta readers.)
Again you want people from your target market demographic. A great resource on this topic has been Jenna Moreci.
Editorial reviews: This section was pathetic and misguided. If you have a Tip Sheet and Press Release (like every marketing campaign should,) it is easily achievable to get an editorial review.
Cover quotes: The advice feels outdated. Polls, surveys, and market research have been done on cover quotes and it has been proven that they do not influence sales! The amount of time you spend contacting, building relationships with a person of influence for a cover quote could be better spent elsewhere. It's more a case of an added extra that is going out of style.
Amazon A+ Content - perfection!
I've definitely either added to cart, or at least added to wishlist where the A+ content has been the tipping point in my interest for a title. Definitely spend time creating and utilising the service - and do some market research/get feedback from your demographic so what you post gives you the best conversion rate.
‘How to Market a Book’ is missing a huge chunk of marketing fundamentals, instead focusing on a small number of platforms (chiefly e-book platforms) and limited digital marketing. There was no advice on marketing through different forms of digital and social media. No discussion on zeroing in on people of influence, or press/media releases. No basics in structuring an actual marketing campaign.
I was frustrated and let down, the title of this book had me thinking this would be a great how-to resource for marketing my book, but it only covers a small section of marketing activities, mostly focused on Amazon (which while a big chunk of the publishing market, it misses a lot of the general public in funnelling traffic to Amazon for sales... or to a different sales platform, or even direct sales) So while informative, this was severely lacking in practical measures to market a book. More like a specific part to market your book on Amazon, after you've completed a whole lot of other stuff.
P160 if your book isn't ranking well on a site's because its search algorithm has changed, rename your books... such bad advice! New ISBN, new cover art, and printing costs. What is this guy on? For a marketing book to suggest this where you lose your already established brand and market recognition is ludicrous. Possibly for a re-launch years down the track with updated book cover art.
The Price Promotion chapter is skewed towards amazon kindle... (or other digital platforms) yes, it’s a good tactic to get on best seller lists, but is assumes you are only interested in turnover, not literature. It also assumes you are writing multiple books, so you can sacrifice the profit margin on one title to boost the sales funnel to other titles (again bias towards series.) This is more a tactic to boost discoverabiliity. It doesn't discuss any other types of price promotion tactics in the industry. What about brick-and-mortar bookstores, independent local book stores where you can run a price promotion in conjunction with an in-person signing event or other special event/day. You could run a price promotion with a group or other authors, or in conjunction with another new release... I'm getting really frustrated with the short-sightedness of this book. It does not take into consideration the industry it is trying to educate authors in marketing for.
This book is great for very niche, very specific examples, (*cough* just Amazon *cough*) but not for your overall book marketing strategy. It's ignored, or given incorrect, and even at times, the opposite advice for what you should be doing when implementing a marketing strategy.
Getting a BookBub deal chapter: Very informative, but it really only applies once you have become established - for your first new release it's useless. There is a cost involved, and highly competitive. You'll already need a polished marketing plan in place that is successful. So this is less a marketing strategy for the planning stage, and more an added bonus for after you books release and some level of success (and reviews)
And again the Re-branding suggestion in the face of failure. It's flippant advice, and if you are doing your marketing strategy properly in the first place, obsolete; and if you have done your due diligence and still not succeeding, a re-brand is time and cost expensive. The author is obviously thinking on a different scale to a proper book marketing specialist.
Then we get to the Advertising platforms sections and Fayet brings up the concept of 'read through' again. The assumption that you are starting to market for the first time with a series or franchise... it doesn't make sense. You'd pick this book up to start planning your marketing strategy before you publish your first book, not after you've already published a series (or multiple series) because again this focus is biased on established authors looking to maximize sales on an already established back catalogue through discounting the debut of a series to boost sales on the rest of the series. A great concept, and give specific examples, but feels like advice for those authors who've already been in the trenches for some time and not seeing any success and are relying on churning out book titles in a rapid release format.
The information in the last third of the book follows the same vein: technical discussion and how-to information regarding various platforms in funnelling your sales and readership. Again, for established writers with a series (or many) under their belt. It did nothing for me in planning out a marketing strategy as a debut author and missed out on so much.
I appreciate this book for specific information of certain topics - primarily Amazon in the US - but the title is misleading and it was only a small piece of the puzzle of what I needed to form a marketing strategy for my first venture into book marketing. (Parts out of date, or plainly incorrect.)
September 22, 2021
Highly recommended for indie authors from beginners to veterans.
I’d heard positive things about this book, and I confess the opening chapters left me wondering what the fuss was about. As I kept reading, I found a wealth of helpful information.
Reedsy co-founder Ricardo Fayet has built on many of the site’s blog posts to assemble a comprehensive overview of what indie authors need to know to market their books. I appreciate his balanced approach and his advice to pick one thing to implement at a time instead of blindly striking out in all directions. He also stresses that marketing is not a one-size-fits-all activity.
This isn’t a smarmy, trickster type of marketing book, but one that emphasizes marketing as a way to help the readers who’ll want your book to find it. That’s helpful, not pushy.
Because many of the topics covered in this book can be books (and courses) in their own right, chapters include referrals to more in-depth material from experts in the field. If you’ve been around indie publishing awhile, you’ll recognize most of the names.
Although it’s packed with information, the book’s friendly, encouraging tone makes it an easy read. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt equipped to choose among my possible next steps.
Bonus about this book? The digital version is free (on all platforms) and I believe it’s intended to remain that way. Warning: you may find you’ve highlighted the digital version enough that you’ll want to buy a print copy for easier reference.
[Review copy from my personal library.]
I’d heard positive things about this book, and I confess the opening chapters left me wondering what the fuss was about. As I kept reading, I found a wealth of helpful information.
Reedsy co-founder Ricardo Fayet has built on many of the site’s blog posts to assemble a comprehensive overview of what indie authors need to know to market their books. I appreciate his balanced approach and his advice to pick one thing to implement at a time instead of blindly striking out in all directions. He also stresses that marketing is not a one-size-fits-all activity.
This isn’t a smarmy, trickster type of marketing book, but one that emphasizes marketing as a way to help the readers who’ll want your book to find it. That’s helpful, not pushy.
Because many of the topics covered in this book can be books (and courses) in their own right, chapters include referrals to more in-depth material from experts in the field. If you’ve been around indie publishing awhile, you’ll recognize most of the names.
Although it’s packed with information, the book’s friendly, encouraging tone makes it an easy read. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt equipped to choose among my possible next steps.
Bonus about this book? The digital version is free (on all platforms) and I believe it’s intended to remain that way. Warning: you may find you’ve highlighted the digital version enough that you’ll want to buy a print copy for easier reference.
[Review copy from my personal library.]
February 24, 2021
As an author assistant, I picked my way through this book reading only the portions that applied to my clients. I'm currently working with traditionally published Christian authors and I like to keep them apprised of trends and new/effective marketing strategies. While the book is geared towards indie writers who have more control over intricate details of their book's marketing, I found plenty of great ideas we could implement immediately.
At the time of this writing, the book is FREE on kindle.
At the time of this writing, the book is FREE on kindle.
August 4, 2025
Very useful and learnt some new stuff for my marketing.
Easy to read.
Easy to read.
November 19, 2021
4.5
This book skewed towards the granular rather than big picture and was 1000% meant for indie authors. Traditional-route authors can still benefit from reading some parts of this but will likely skim much more. Content and style-wise, this is great for people who are looking for step-by-step advice on different aspects of their marketing plan.
Since this book is free on Amazon, you will lose very little by just reading the sections that will be most helpful to you depending on where you are in your writing career.
_____
Parts 1 & 2 were best for new authors, especially those not even done with their manuscript yet. There were pieces of advice in here that would be hard to implement in retrospect for an author with already published books or one that is nearly complete.
Fayet spoke about identifying niches, styles, & channels.
Part 3 was all about conversion: conversion funnel, cover designs, testing covers, writing good book blurbs, getting reviews, building a street team, getting cover quotes, building relationships in the industry.
This was pretty good, albeit very intuitive. It was useful to see this information align with much of the information that I've read in similar books.
Part 4 was all about marketing on Amazon. There was some good information here about the pros and cons of going exclusive with Amazon.
Part 5 covered marketing 'wide,' aka. with retailers other than Amazon. The main takeaways are that wide-marketing is a long-term strategy.
Part 6 covered mailing lists, including recommended providers, how to make newsletter signups more enticing for readers, how to automate certain recurring functions, segment out newsletter recipients, and optimizing design/content for best engagement.
Part 7 covered price promotions, including very specific examples. Chapter 37, for instance, was just about how to get a BookBub deal.
Part 8 covered advertising platforms. There was some basic math here about how to estimate ROI and cautionary advice about managing expectations of book-based income - at least in the beginning. There was some information about how to track conversion through affiliate programs and another section that compared advertising on AMZ vs. FB vs. BookBub. I found this very clear and helpful. The latter half of part 8 was very granular. It provided step-by-step advice on managing advertising campaigns on the 3 aforementioned platforms. I skimmed a lot here, since I'm not ready to launch a marketing campaign just yet.
Part 9 covered the different ways in which you could make money off previously published books. It provided information about box sets, ideas on what to include in a box set, which platforms would be best to list box sets on, how to market box sets, audiobooks, and the benefits of expanding to international markets. Like previous chapters, this section's advice worked under the assumption that you, the reader, already have a few books published. The advice here is far down the line for a first-time writer who is likely trying to collect information on how to get their debut novel into readers' hands to start.
I gave this book 4.5/5.0 just for the sheer amount of information it contained, even though I'm not sure whose Fayet's intended audience was other than just a 'writer.' Some of the stuff in here seemed aimed at novices, while other stuff seemed aimed at experienced indie authors.
This was the most detailed, extensive e-book I've read in this genre so far, and I'm impressed by the fact that Fayet gave this away for free. I would have loved to see this information curated a bit better, without the step-by-step chapters in part 8 (perhaps he could link to a page on his blog where he could go into the nitty gritty of marketing campaigns on several platforms), but overall, I found this to be useful, informative, and extensively researched.
This book skewed towards the granular rather than big picture and was 1000% meant for indie authors. Traditional-route authors can still benefit from reading some parts of this but will likely skim much more. Content and style-wise, this is great for people who are looking for step-by-step advice on different aspects of their marketing plan.
Since this book is free on Amazon, you will lose very little by just reading the sections that will be most helpful to you depending on where you are in your writing career.
_____
Parts 1 & 2 were best for new authors, especially those not even done with their manuscript yet. There were pieces of advice in here that would be hard to implement in retrospect for an author with already published books or one that is nearly complete.
Fayet spoke about identifying niches, styles, & channels.
Part 3 was all about conversion: conversion funnel, cover designs, testing covers, writing good book blurbs, getting reviews, building a street team, getting cover quotes, building relationships in the industry.
This was pretty good, albeit very intuitive. It was useful to see this information align with much of the information that I've read in similar books.
Part 4 was all about marketing on Amazon. There was some good information here about the pros and cons of going exclusive with Amazon.
Part 5 covered marketing 'wide,' aka. with retailers other than Amazon. The main takeaways are that wide-marketing is a long-term strategy.
Part 6 covered mailing lists, including recommended providers, how to make newsletter signups more enticing for readers, how to automate certain recurring functions, segment out newsletter recipients, and optimizing design/content for best engagement.
Part 7 covered price promotions, including very specific examples. Chapter 37, for instance, was just about how to get a BookBub deal.
Part 8 covered advertising platforms. There was some basic math here about how to estimate ROI and cautionary advice about managing expectations of book-based income - at least in the beginning. There was some information about how to track conversion through affiliate programs and another section that compared advertising on AMZ vs. FB vs. BookBub. I found this very clear and helpful. The latter half of part 8 was very granular. It provided step-by-step advice on managing advertising campaigns on the 3 aforementioned platforms. I skimmed a lot here, since I'm not ready to launch a marketing campaign just yet.
Part 9 covered the different ways in which you could make money off previously published books. It provided information about box sets, ideas on what to include in a box set, which platforms would be best to list box sets on, how to market box sets, audiobooks, and the benefits of expanding to international markets. Like previous chapters, this section's advice worked under the assumption that you, the reader, already have a few books published. The advice here is far down the line for a first-time writer who is likely trying to collect information on how to get their debut novel into readers' hands to start.
I gave this book 4.5/5.0 just for the sheer amount of information it contained, even though I'm not sure whose Fayet's intended audience was other than just a 'writer.' Some of the stuff in here seemed aimed at novices, while other stuff seemed aimed at experienced indie authors.
This was the most detailed, extensive e-book I've read in this genre so far, and I'm impressed by the fact that Fayet gave this away for free. I would have loved to see this information curated a bit better, without the step-by-step chapters in part 8 (perhaps he could link to a page on his blog where he could go into the nitty gritty of marketing campaigns on several platforms), but overall, I found this to be useful, informative, and extensively researched.
July 13, 2025
This is not one of those vague cheerleader books filled with inspirational slogans and generic advice you’ve seen before. How to Market a Book is sharp, specific, and well-organized, with a tone that strikes the right balance between encouraging and uncompromising. The author doesn’t pretend that marketing is easy or that everyone can hit bestseller status, but instead lays out clear paths that real writers—especially those willing to treat their craft like a career—can follow.
One thing I appreciated is how early the book pushes the idea that marketing doesn’t start after the book is published. The advice around choosing a niche, researching what's selling in that space, and shaping your books to fit both market and reader expectations felt especially valuable. There's a quiet honesty here that many other books gloss over: if you want to make money writing, you need to learn how to serve a readership, not just write for yourself.
The strongest sections for me were those on building a backlist, the concept of "read through" in series, and the very realistic breakdown of marketing channels. The author doesn’t just name-drop strategies—he explains how to test them properly and gives realistic timeframes for when to expect results. If you’re the kind of writer who’s been dabbling in every tactic under the sun and getting nowhere, this book might be what gets you to slow down and focus.
There are a few places where the tone leans heavily on examples from Amazon and Reedsy, and I would’ve liked to see a bit more attention to growing platforms or alternatives. But that’s a small quibble in an otherwise well-constructed guide.
This book is best suited for authors who are already working on a series or plan to write multiple books in the same genre—less so for memoirists or literary fiction authors with one title and no plans to build a catalog. But if you’re serious about selling your work, it’s worth reading cover to cover and coming back to again as you build.
One thing I appreciated is how early the book pushes the idea that marketing doesn’t start after the book is published. The advice around choosing a niche, researching what's selling in that space, and shaping your books to fit both market and reader expectations felt especially valuable. There's a quiet honesty here that many other books gloss over: if you want to make money writing, you need to learn how to serve a readership, not just write for yourself.
The strongest sections for me were those on building a backlist, the concept of "read through" in series, and the very realistic breakdown of marketing channels. The author doesn’t just name-drop strategies—he explains how to test them properly and gives realistic timeframes for when to expect results. If you’re the kind of writer who’s been dabbling in every tactic under the sun and getting nowhere, this book might be what gets you to slow down and focus.
There are a few places where the tone leans heavily on examples from Amazon and Reedsy, and I would’ve liked to see a bit more attention to growing platforms or alternatives. But that’s a small quibble in an otherwise well-constructed guide.
This book is best suited for authors who are already working on a series or plan to write multiple books in the same genre—less so for memoirists or literary fiction authors with one title and no plans to build a catalog. But if you’re serious about selling your work, it’s worth reading cover to cover and coming back to again as you build.
February 21, 2021
A comprehensive and valuable guide for any author looking to make a career out of their writing…
Finding good marketing advice about the ins and outs of indie publishing can be quite a daunting task but Ricardo Fayet has achieved this near enough flawlessly with this easy to read guide that’ll I’ll be returning to for reference for some time.
The subject matter ranges widely over 51 chapters from the basic mindset of readers finding you to your writing niche all the way to the intricate details of advertising on different platforms and so much more. All of this works towards the message that indie authors can be successful and can make money – there are even basic formula’s that math-phobic types like me could easily understand, it’s motivational and informative at the same time. From the tactic of ‘going wide’ to staying Amazon exclusive the information is all there and it’s up to date for the modern story teller. Any budding author or even those already published will be able to take away a multitude of knowledge which is also backed up with links to the many resources that probably led to the creation of this book. While this might be perceived as one big advert for Reedsy you cannot fault it for the amount of information and the help it provides.
I particularly enjoyed the analysis of advertising books through Bookbub, Amazon and Facebook each with their strength’s and weaknesses laid out. While marketing appears to be the biggest challenge for authors this book will give you no reason to believe that anymore because it’s normally something way before that as said in the conclusion – perhaps the truest statement of the book and reality check many authors need.
Just what does it take to find success as an author in a crowded market? Reading this book for a start because to me it’s an essential tool.
Finding good marketing advice about the ins and outs of indie publishing can be quite a daunting task but Ricardo Fayet has achieved this near enough flawlessly with this easy to read guide that’ll I’ll be returning to for reference for some time.
The subject matter ranges widely over 51 chapters from the basic mindset of readers finding you to your writing niche all the way to the intricate details of advertising on different platforms and so much more. All of this works towards the message that indie authors can be successful and can make money – there are even basic formula’s that math-phobic types like me could easily understand, it’s motivational and informative at the same time. From the tactic of ‘going wide’ to staying Amazon exclusive the information is all there and it’s up to date for the modern story teller. Any budding author or even those already published will be able to take away a multitude of knowledge which is also backed up with links to the many resources that probably led to the creation of this book. While this might be perceived as one big advert for Reedsy you cannot fault it for the amount of information and the help it provides.
I particularly enjoyed the analysis of advertising books through Bookbub, Amazon and Facebook each with their strength’s and weaknesses laid out. While marketing appears to be the biggest challenge for authors this book will give you no reason to believe that anymore because it’s normally something way before that as said in the conclusion – perhaps the truest statement of the book and reality check many authors need.
Just what does it take to find success as an author in a crowded market? Reading this book for a start because to me it’s an essential tool.
December 1, 2021
The world of publishing is changing rapidly. And as a result of the project I have been working on for a while I am trying to learn how a book like the one I am writing (Of Course It's True Except for a Couple of Lies) can get into print.
There are lots of options. I actually got contacted by the DIY arm of Simon and Shuster but their "deal" was absurd. So one of my editors offered the resource of Reedsy which seems to be the best place to learn about all of the steps in entering the DIY world. There are simple options (Kindle Direct and Apple Books and KOBO are three). But then there are, with the advent of digital files sites like Ingram Spark which will publish in hard cover, paper, ebook and audible and actually help you distribute.
But then comes the questions of advertising and promoting. Again there are bunches of options.
What this volume really is is an Encyclopedia with lots of references - in the best sense of the world. The chapters are short and chockfull of options and advice. Reedsy also offers webinars to get a perspective on the DIY world. My copy is marked up - but the marks are sequential so as I go through the individual steps of getting into print - I will be returning. That is a superb service to those of us who want to publish a book.
There are lots of options. I actually got contacted by the DIY arm of Simon and Shuster but their "deal" was absurd. So one of my editors offered the resource of Reedsy which seems to be the best place to learn about all of the steps in entering the DIY world. There are simple options (Kindle Direct and Apple Books and KOBO are three). But then there are, with the advent of digital files sites like Ingram Spark which will publish in hard cover, paper, ebook and audible and actually help you distribute.
But then comes the questions of advertising and promoting. Again there are bunches of options.
What this volume really is is an Encyclopedia with lots of references - in the best sense of the world. The chapters are short and chockfull of options and advice. Reedsy also offers webinars to get a perspective on the DIY world. My copy is marked up - but the marks are sequential so as I go through the individual steps of getting into print - I will be returning. That is a superb service to those of us who want to publish a book.
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