For a lucky few, writing is a full time gig. But for the rest of us, Monday through Friday is taken up by our day job and our writing side-hustle is squeezed into the remaining few moments not taken up by family, social activities, volunteer obligations, and maybe (if we’re lucky,) a little down time.
When it comes time to market your book, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of time it takes to just learn how to market, let alone actually do the marketing. Marketing your book could easily be a full time job, so how do you fit it in when you already work full time? I know in my case, despite my best laid intentions to be up at 5 am to devote some much needed time to marketing efforts, Monday through Friday become a whirlwind and the weekend arrives with the guilt of knowing I haven’t gotten anything writing-related accomplished all week.
To tackle this vicious cycle, I started finding little ways to market and feel productive that could fit into the nooks and crannies of my work day—my commute, my lunch break, my 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. The easiest way to build a habit is to start small. Below are some easy ways to move the needle on your author efforts without a total a life overhaul.
Monday
Mondays are hard, but hopefully you are a little bit refreshed from the weekend. Use some of those creative juices and write a little. Maybe it’s 250 words or maybe it’s 15 minutes. Maybe you’ll just brainstorm about your plot or characters. Driving to work? Use your phone’s dictate feature to record ideas to explore later. Author after author will tell you that the best way to market your book and find ultimate success is to write more books. Having a lot of products in the market makes it more likely that someone will find you and fall in love with your writing. So keep at it!
Tuesday
Engage on social media. This is probably what you think of when someone mentions “author marketing,” and it is certainly critical. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I try to connect with one new person on each of my social media sites each week. It’s not too tough to find one person that shares your interests and like or comment on one of their posts. Bonus: Look to connect with folks who have a following that would be interested in your book. Start developing the relationship so you can ask for their support down the road.
Wednesday
You’ve made it to hump day. Give yourself a break. Maybe you’re worn out from all of that social media engagement yesterday. Read a little bit (or listen to an audiobook if your commute is your only free time). Something fun. Something you’d want to write. Reading is a critical part of your continued author education! If you find yourself liking something (or not), ask yourself why? Make a mental note for your next work. Bonus: When you’ve finished the book, write a review and share it on your blog. Now you’ve generated content that is of interest to your potential readers. Share the review with the author, who will likely share it with their followers, and get some nice links back to your own page.
Thursday
Work on a blog post. Notice I didn’t say: complete or post a blog post. We have all heard how important author blogs are, but it can be hard to find the time to actively maintain your blog. But just because you don’t have time to sit down and write a 1000 word post doesn’t mean you can’t make some progress. Even if you only have 15 minutes, you have time to brainstorm an idea for a future post, write a first paragraph, or find a featured image for that post that has been sitting in draft status for two weeks. With an idea or a start, you won’t be facing the blinking cursor of doom when you sit down to blog next time.
Friday
Learn something new (about marketing or writing, your choice). By subscribing to relevant blogs (like Book Marketing Tools) you can get great informative content delivered strait to your inbox. It’s so easy to click through your email and take 5 minutes to learn something you can apply down the road. No time to read? Subscribe to podcasts you can listen to on your commute or while you’re cooking dinner (like the Author Hangout). Bonus: Click the Twitter or Facebook share link on a post you find interesting, and voila, you’ve engaged in social media twice this week!
Claire Luana is a litigation lawyer by day, and a young adult fantasy writer by night. Her debut novel, Moonburner, will be published in 2016 by Soul Fire Press. Find her online at www.claireluana.com.