Blowing the trumpet

It’s been one year since my debut novel was published and I naively thought the difficult part was over. I could say goodbye to the endless drafts; the painstaking editing; the reading and re-reading; and oh, all the unwanted self doubt that began to creep in. And to an extent, it was. My book was written and the fruits of my labour was evident for all to see. But without a team behind me to promote it, how on earth were people beyond my familiar circle going to know about it?

Aside the wonderful friends and family who supported me by buying a copy of my novel, I knew that I had a challenge on my hands for it to reach a wider audience, especially with an already oversaturated market. I realised pretty quickly that no-one was going to blow my novel’s trumpet. That would be my job. If I wanted to actually sell copies of my book, which of course I did, I realised I had to do it myself. That meant having to be to be my own PR, sales and marketing person - plugging away at all three continuously to get my first book in to as many hands as possible.

So how did I go about all that trumpet blowing? Suffice to say, it’s been quite the learning curve.  

One of the things I shall always be grateful for is the support from my local coffeeshop/workspace. When I was in the process of drafting my book, I would go there almost every day to write, plot and edit. And of course, being a regular, I got to know all the wonderful baristas who worked there. When I asked whether they would be interested in selling my book once it was published (bearing in mind they only sold coffee, tea and cakes at the time) to my surprise - and delight - they said yes!

To celebrate my book coming into the world, I had a little launch at the coffee shop on publication day, replete with balloons and promotional posters. I also did a promotional offer on my book - a free hot drink with every purchase. Advantageously, my books were strategically stocked by the till, which made it easy for a customer to pick up, flick through, and decide whether they wanted to purchase it. I am so grateful that my book went on to sell many copies there and I even had the pleasure of meeting  customers who purchased a copy - my beloved readers -  some of whom asked me to sign their book or write a personal message for them. 

That, I have to say, has been one of my highlights over the past year - meeting my readers. Slightly surreal (as in “pinch myself moment” surreal) - but an absolute pleasure nonetheless. 

I also thought about how to get my book noticed in shop shelves. I should mention that while my book is available to buy from Amazon and global retailers online - Waterstones, WH Smith, Barnes & Noble etc - I realise I am jostling for attention among thousands, if not millions of other books. Again, as an unknown author, that’s quite a challenge and a somewhat unrealistic one at that. My book would probably end up feeling rather lonely, ignored and unloved. And nobody wants that. 

So what to do? I decided that small and independent was the way to go. And I wanted these small and independent shops to have some kind of connection to my novel - the connection for me being the plot setting. That meant specifically targeting bookshops in Yorkshire and Berlin.  And that’s exactly what I did. I brought half a dozen copies of my book on both visits and pitched my novel to them. Interestingly, it was the bookshops in Berlin who were more open and receptive to my work - and, I hasten to add, less bureaucratic. Every single bookshop I approached - five altogether - agreed to sell my book on the spot. 

My trip to Yorkshire however, was less successful. They required me to either leave a copy for them so that the manager could read it and make a final decision or send a copy to them in the post as part of a submission package. In contrast to Berlin, it all seemed rather complicated. Nevertheless, despite not being so lucky in Yorkshire, I would definitely recommend fostering links with local bookshops. Not only are they an excellent way to ensure more visibility for your book, you might even be given an eye-catching, prime position at the front of the shop to increase sale chances.

Coffeeshops and independents aside, when it comes to socials, Instagram has proven to be a reliable and creative platform to help boost my novel’s visibility. There is though - and I am very aware of this - a fine line between keeping the book relevant and in people’s minds and not doing enough. Hopefully I have found a happy medium. 

And while all this is going on, life happens, you meet people, get talking and through these new connections you might decide to mention your book - or not. And if you do, well, hopefully these lovely new people might be curious enough to buy your novel and even (the icing on the cake here) recommend it to others. That would be brilliant. That would definitely make my day.