Most people think of writing, self-publishing, and selling their books as a solitary endeavor. Though it can be, it doesn’t have to be. Usually, you’ll find great success by working with others, especially in the realm of marketing and promotion. There are many benefits to working with other authors. Here, we’ll share some of those benefits and expand on how you can find collaborators and get them to work with you.
Working with Others is a Win-Win Situation
Marketing in conjunction with others will amplify your exposure, widen your reach, and allow you to find new audiences. Don’t look at other authors as your competition. This isn't a zero-sum game in which if one author sells more books, you sell less. The pie just gets bigger, because book lovers want to keep reading more books.
Collaborative marketing will also extend the life of your book. Many authors will see good sales when their book first launches, but then it slows. Promotions from other authors can give you a significant boost.
Additionally, you can share the workload and learn new skills from your partners. Marketing and promoting are hard work, including learning what works and doesn’t work for you and then implementing that practically. This process becomes easier when you do it with other authors. Writers rarely make it to bestseller status without a strong network of authors working with them.
Choose the Right People to Work With
It would be foolish to proffer a partnership with just any random author, even one you really like. There are several things to consider before reaching out to anyone.
- Figure out what your niche is and find others who are in the same one. The fiction genre is way too broad, and even the fantasy genre is likely too broad as well. Get as granular as arcane-punk fantasy, dragon fantasy, or gaslamp fantasy. When people enjoy a book, they tend to look for more like it. Promoting a book alongside another fiction writer in the same genre will all but guarantee you’ll reach an audience that will want to read your book.
- Your collaborator doesn’t need to be a celebrity or someone with an enormous number of followers. Those attributes are nice, but mostly it needs to be someone you can trust, who is regularly interacting with their readers and promoting their work. Make sure you’re okay with how they present themselves online and that you have a similar message. A partnership won’t work out if you have diametrically opposed views on core beliefs.
- Look to the internet to find the right person for you. Use Goodreads, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and Slack to search for writers in your niche, and then read their material to get a feel for who would work best with you. You can also attend writer’s conferences, literary festivals, and book launches to meet in person. It's recommended that you still do a lot of research online before approaching someone, and be sure to focus on the attendees instead of the speakers.
Connect with Other Authors
Once you have several potential collaborators in mind, rank them according to how well they fit with your genre, their level of audience engagement, and how well you might get along with them. Pick a few of the top options and contact them with a polite, customized message that demonstrates your admiration of them, your wish to collaborate, and what you bring to the table. You could initially offer to write a guest post for their blog, share their content, or review their book. This is not you asking for a favor, but making a proposition that will benefit them as well. Don’t think of this as a transaction, but as a way of developing an ally and a friend.
When someone responds positively, you should send them your media kit, but tailor it for collaboration. This shows them you’re professional, and that working with you would be beneficial. If they're up for a meeting, get together and write down your marketing goals, determine what activities you’ll engage in, how often you’ll do them, and make sure everyone’s expectations are the same. It’s also helpful to work with several authors, so you’re not counting on just one person to fulfill every aspect of what you’d like to get done.
Collaboration Activities
Once you’ve found one or more authors that match your style and that want to work with you—now it’s time to make those sales. Here are some practical ways to promote each other’s books:
- Interview one another on your podcasts, as a webinar for your websites, or to post on social media
- Co-host each other’s podcasts
- Share a table or booth at expos and festivals
- Work together to create your own literary event
- Promote each other on Goodreads with reviews and comments
- Swap email contact lists
- Be a guest blogger for each other and link to where your books can be purchased
- Promote each other on all social media by liking and sharing posts as well as making posts about them
- Offer giveaways and raffles with each other’s books as the prize
- Contribute to each other’s launch bundles
- Write the foreword and/or a blurb for each other's books
- Recommend each other’s book at every opportunity
- Create a joint website
There are many ways to market and promote your fellow authors. When you get one or more on your team, the benefit to your success as a writer cannot be overstated. Don’t think you have to go it alone and beat out the competition. Authors are better together!
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