Now that you’ve published your book, it’s time to start marketing! Truth is, even if you’ve written Canada’s next best-seller, no one’s going to know (or care) about it unless you tell them. For the most basic marketing approach, I recommend setting up a website, email marketing, and using one social media platform –in that order.

• Set up a website. Every author needs a website where readers can go to find out more about the book and the author, buy the book, and find information about how to contact the author or follow them on social media. Your website is where you will drive sales and maintain relationships with your most devoted readers.

• Set up email marketing. When people visit your website, you’re going to want to keep them invested in your book and your cause. The most effective way to do that is through a steady email newsletter. Doing so ensures regular communication with your most valued customers, by informing them of news, events, tips and insights, and announcements of new books you’re writing! If you keep a consistent and positive relationship with them, this group will be the most likely to tell others about your book and pick up a copy of your next one!

• Use social media. Besides word-of-mouth, social media is the next best thing to get the word out about your book. You don’t have to use all the platforms. Instead, choose the one where your audience hangs out the most, and create one stellar profile with a consistent posting schedule. Remember, consistency doesn’t mean you have to post every day– it just means choose how often you will communicate and stick with it. Your followers will come to expect content and look forward to it.

Where Do I Start?

Start by building a website. There are many options available for people who aren’t technically minded, who need a simple drag-and-drop format or to use templates. Trust me –anyone can do it. Next, set up email marketing and have an automated welcome message ready to go for anyone who signs up for your newsletter. You can figure out content later; the first step is just to have it available for anyone who arrives at your site. Set up your social media profile last, and start posting content related to your book. Your content should drive people to your website.

Turning the Page

Now that you have a good grasp of the four steps that will help you confidently launch your book from manuscript to marketplace, start hustling, baby! My professional advice? Don’t overthink it. Tackle one small step at a time, before even thinking about your next move. Nike got it right—the key is to just do it. You won’t regret it. I’m rooting for you!

Ready to dive in? 👉 Sign up for my monthly newsletter for practical tips and encouragement straight to your inbox. I’ll be doing a more in-depth dive into each of these topics in the near future. Make sure you don’t miss it!

If you’d rather have someone else take on some of the heavy lifting, let’s chat! I’d love to help you cut through the overwhelm and crush your next project.

If the thought of writing and publishing your own book makes your breath catch in your throat, I’m here to tell you that the process of becoming a published author doesn’t have to leave you anxious. In fact, it can be simple and painless as long as you have a clear roadmap for every step of the process. Below, I outline the four steps every aspiring author needs to tackle to take their story from manuscript to marketplace.

Clarify your message and audience

You have a baller idea for a book. You’ve prayed about it, drafted an outline, and now you’re ready to start writing. Hold up! First, take some time to think through your message and your target audience. As much as you’d like it to be true, your book is not going to speak to everyone. The very first step to publishing successfully is knowing exactly who you’re writing for. Having a solid understanding of what you want to say and who you’re saying it to will help you:

• Write with focus

• Edit with purpose

• Inform marketing efforts and brand-building

• Inform cover design and genre categories (self-publishing)

• Improve writing book proposals (traditional publishing)

• Deepen ministry impact as you pray for your readers

Where Do I Start?

Decide on the overarching message that you want to convey and determine who will care about it. Ask yourself: If someone reads my book, what’s the one thing I want them to remember? Now tighten it. Draft your “elevator pitch” –how would you summarize your book to someone you were riding an elevator with, and they were getting off in two floors?

Strengthen your manuscript with editing

Once you’ve finished writing a complete first draft of your manuscript –a book before it’s published – it’s time to edit to strengthen your writing and ensure a well-written and professional end product! A first draft is never great, but your second, or third, will be. The editing process involves three types of editing: structural, copy, and proofreading. A good editor will always advise that it is absolutely necessary that a manuscript go through all three types of editing, and in the correct order. Here’s a summary of each one and why they’re important.

• Structural Editing. This type is the first step in the editing process. Think of it as the blueprint for a house: making sure the rooms are in the right place, the foundation is solid, and the layout makes sense. In the same way, it looks at the structure of your book to make sure things are written in the correct order, are understandable, make sense, have areas that are missing or that need to be cut out. For example, at this stage, an editor could suggest adding, removing, or relocating parts of your story. Editing your book structure is the most time-intensive part of the editing process.

• Copy Editing. This is the second step in the editing process, and can be likened to the interior design of the house: Choosing the right furniture, arranging it so it flows well, and making sure the colours and styles match. Once you have everything in the right place, copy editing is fine-tuning the writing. It examines spelling, syntax, and sentence structure, with the overall goal of ensuring every sentence is correct, clear in meaning, and easy to understand (although this depends on the writing style).

• Proofreading. This is the final step in the process, and equates to the final clean-up before you move into your new home: Polishing floors, wiping shelves, and making sure nothing is out of place. In your manuscript, proofreading looks for errors in formatting, typos, and anything else that the previous round of edits might have missed. If you revise or move around text after proofreading, make sure to proofread again before you publish, as typos and formatting errors are common when text is moved around.

Where Do I Start?

Your editing journey might look different depending on whether you choose a traditional publisher or go the self-publishing route. With a traditional publisher, you’ll work with an editor who’s been assigned to you. If you self-publish, you’ll likely have to pay a professional editor to ensure you have a final product that’s polished, structurally sound, and professional-looking. When a reader picks up your book, you want it to be indistinguishable from the ones published by the big five.

Choose how to publish

After a thorough edit, your manuscript is ready to be published–woohoo! You can choose whether you want to go through a traditional publisher or self-publishing. Which one you decide on depends entirely on your goals and preferences. Here’s a quick breakdown of each option to help you make your decision.

• Traditional Publisher. A book deal with a traditional publisher means you don’t pay any upfront costs. The publisher takes care of editing, printing, cover design, and marketing. Yeah, it sounds pretty great… if you can actually get a book deal. In Canada, English-language trad publishers publish approximately 35 books per year, according to the 2023 survey by Booknet Canada. As well, they often choose specific genres or author categories in which they will accept manuscripts that year. Those outside the scope don’t make it past the (digital) mailroom. Finally, unless you’re a celebrity or best-selling author, don’t count on the publisher putting much effort into marketing your book. Big marketing budgets are reserved for authors who are guaranteed to make publishers money. As a result, most authors end up having to promote their own books if they want to see sales.

• Self-publishing. Going the self-publishing route means you control when, where, and how your book goes out into the world. Some authors, who’ve done it both ways, even report bigger profit margins with self-publishing. With print-on-demand companies like Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark, you can upload your formatted manuscript and start selling directly to readers, to whom KDP automatically print and mails your book without you having to lift a finger. Going this route also means you have full control of editing and cover design. But, self-publishing also likely means you’ll have to pay for some professional help to make sure your book is just as good as the ones published by trad publishers. In most cases, that means hiring someone to do the editing and cover design.

• Hybrid publishers. Often referred to as “vanity” publishers, these publishing companies offer a type of self-publishing where you pay a set price –usually a few thousand dollars, depending on the package– for the company to edit, publish, and print your book. By paying the fee, you’re guaranteed a published product. If you decide to go with a hybrid publisher, use caution! They are notorious for not having their clients’ best interests at heart, and many authors report being disappointed with their services.

Where Do I Start?

Start by thinking through your goals. Ask yourself how long you’re willing to wait for your book to be published. Are you OK with it if it never happens? How much work are you willing to put into marketing? Are you willing to pay to see your book published? What’s your budget?

Start marketing