Helpful Marketing Links For Authors

Today, I had a wonderful time speaking at the Spring Writer's Conference of the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County. My panel was the first of the day and the attendees and I had a great discussion and Q&A throughout.

One thing I shared with the attendees was a worksheet with some links of helpful websites for authors who are planning to market their books and looking for ways to encompass a strategy to do so. I figured I'd share those links here as well. These are just a sampling of different websites that I've found helpful over the years; there are many others out there.

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~ DIY WEBSITE HOST CHOICES ~

Having an author website is key to any marketing strategy. If you're on a budget and would like to do it yourself, here are some recommended websites (and one that I'm not so keen on).

Substack - Recommended. Very flexible; easy for people to follow you.
Weebly - Recommended. VERY easy to use - it's just point and click.
Wix - Recommended. Flexible website setup.
WordPress - Based on personal experience, not recommended. I found it harder to use, and my website crashed shortly after I built it.

~ ARTICLES ~

A few helpful marketing articles, including one from yours truly.

Budget-Friendly Book Marketing (Alison McBain)
Marketing & Promotion (Jane Friedman)
Self-Publishing 101: Marketing (Alliance of Independent Authors)

~ AWARD SUBMISSIONS ~

There are so many book awards out there. Which ones are reputable? Which ones accept indie books? Here are a few databases that can help you sort the great awards from the vanity ones.

Book Award & Contest Ratings (Alliance of Independent Authors)
Writing Contest, Grants & Awards (Poets & Writers)
Firefly Creative Writing

~ INDIE BOOK REVIEWERS ~

Not every book reviewer out there will take a look at indie-published or small press books. These are a few databases (and one review site) that contain places that do, including a number of select book bloggers who are always interested to take a look.

The Indie View
Independent Book Review (free/paid)
List of Indie Book Reviewers

~ MAGAZINES THAT PUBLISH BOOK EXCERPTS ~

How do you find new readers once your book is published? One way is by having excerpts of your novel published in various magazines. Here are four that will publish short excerpts from your book.

Bewildering Stories
Book Life
Commuter Lit
Embark Literary Journal

~ MARKETING PLANS FOR WRITERS ~

Marketing plans are very useful in order to help you stay on budget and organize your marketing strategy. Here are a couple of sites that explain what goes into a book marketing plan, as well as offering templates to compose your own.

Book Marketing Plan: The Definitive Checklist
Book Marketing Plan Template (ManuscriptReport.com)

~ PODCAST DATABASES ~

These are several databases that connect you to podcast hosts looking for writer guests.

Pitch Podcasts (free)
Podcast Guests (free/paid)
PodMatch (paid service)

~ SHORT WRITING SUBMISSIONS ~

New/shorter writing can be helpful to sell older/longer writing - and you get paid for it too! One of the best marketing strategies I've found to stay on a reader's radar is by having your short stories, poems, and essays published regularly in magazines and journals. Below is a list of several submission databases for shorter writing.

Authors Publish
The Short List
The Submission Grinder
Winning Writers