How do I get my writing noticed by others?

“I’ve finished my novel and I’m ready to share it with the world, but I have no idea where to start. How do I get my writing noticed? Social media feels overwhelming, and I don’t know what actually works.”

When you write for yourself, when the writing is finished, you’ve done the hard part. You’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into your manuscript, and now you get to take a step back and just be proud of what you’ve achieved.

When you write to publish, however, writing is only the first part of the job. Whether you’re traditionally publishing or self-publishing, there’s a lot of marketing work that goes into getting your work out to an audience. And sometimes, that work has to start before you’ve even finished the manuscript.

Book marketing is an entirely different skill set from writing. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: there’s no single formula that guarantees success.

What works for one writer might fall completely flat for another. An author who built a massive following on TikTok might have struggled on Twitter. A writer who found their audience through email marketing might have zero interest in video content. The trick isn’t finding the “right” way to market your writing; it’s about finding your way.

Why there are no hard and fast rules

The publishing landscape is constantly shifting. Platforms rise and fall in popularity (RIP Kindle Vella and OG Twitter), algorithms change, and reader habits evolve. What worked five years ago might be obsolete today, and what’s trending now might not exist in another five years. Plus, there’s the personal element too; if you’re not familiar with a platform, or it’s not one you’re comfortable using, then there’s no point trying to force your round self into a square hole.

The most important part of book marketing is that readers can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. Readers respond to what feels organic and genuine. They want to connect with you and your work, not with a carefully constructed marketing persona and a false representation of what they can expect to read.

With all that said, however, readers won’t magically find you. You have to be available, and they need to be able to hear about your work. It means you need to experiment, pay attention to what feels sustainable, and build a marketing style that aligns with your personality, strengths, and the time you realistically have available. That could be anything from video reels to print ads. You know yourself and your audience best.

Finding what works for you

Before diving into tactics, it’s important to ask yourself some honest questions:

• What platforms do you already enjoy using or are most comfortable with?
• How much time can you realistically dedicate to marketing?
• Are you comfortable on camera, or do you prefer writing?
• Do you enjoy interacting with readers, or does that drain you?
• What kind of content do you actually like seeing from other authors?

Your answers will point you toward marketing strategies you might actually stick with. And when you’ve found one that speaks to you, if you stay consistent and visible, you’ll have a much higher chance of finding your readers than posting sporadically on a platform you don’t vibe with.

We also have a completely free marketing primer available in the Novlr Academy from Press Shop PR, a book marketing firm that has helped countless authors build a marketing strategy that works for them! Check out our free Beginner’s Guide to Book Marketing here.

Practical approaches to explore

While there’s no universal formula, certain strategies can help you build an audience. Consider these as a starting point for your own experimentation with book marketing:

Build genuine connections

Authentic connections tend to create more visibility than marketing. Engage with other writers, readers, and communities in your genre. Comment on posts, take part in discussions, and support others’ work. People remember those who were there before they needed anything.

This isn’t about networking strategically; it’s about being a genuine member of the community. The connections you build by engaging with book readers will naturally lead to word-of-mouth recommendations, collaboration opportunities with other writers in your genre, and discovery through a network of people who trust each other.

Share your process, not just your product

Readers are often as interested in how books come to be as they are in the finished work. Sharing your writing journey (the struggles, the breakthroughs, the weird research rabbit holes!) creates connections in a way that just advertising simply can’t replicate.

This could look like behind-the-scenes posts about your writing process, reflections on writing challenges you’re working through, or stories about what inspired your book. You’re giving people a reason to care about you and your work beyond just “buy my book.”

Find your content comfort zone

Different formats work for different people:

• If you love writing, consider a newsletter, blog, or text-based social media.
• If you’re comfortable speaking, podcasts (as a guest or host) might be your strength.
• If you enjoy being on camera, short-form video platforms might be your jam.
• If you prefer one-on-one interaction, engaging directly with the bookish community might fit the bill.

Don’t force yourself into a format that makes you miserable. The best marketing is the kind you’ll actually do consistently.

Leverage your existing networks

Before looking for new audiences, think about who already knows you and your work. Do you have a network of beta readers who could be potential recommenders? Do your friends and family read in your genre, and could they offer an unbiased recommendation? Do you have a professional network who share your interests who could give you a shout-out? A personal recommendation from someone another reader trusts carries far more weight than any advertisement.

Don’t be afraid to ask people to share your work if they enjoyed it. And most importantly, ask them for a review on a public platform like The historiography or Goodreads. If they don’t want to review it, leave it at that. But there’s nothing wrong with asking and giving them the prompt (but do make sure you only ask people who read in your genre – because a reader who exclusively enjoys romance is probably not going to rate a horror novel full of gore all that highly).

Consider the long game

You won’t just find an audience overnight. Most people you might perceive as overnight successes have years of quiet work behind them.

The likelihood of going viral is small, and it’s not something you can make happen. For that reason, you have to focus on gradual growth rather than relying on virality as a marketing strategy. A hundred engaged readers who genuinely love your work will do more for your marketing than a brief moment of virality, so don’t chase something that is almost entirely up to chance.

What to avoid

As you find your path in courting readers, while your journey might be unique, there are some common things to watch out for:

• Don’t spread yourself too thin. You don’t need to be on every platform, so pick one or two that speak to you and do them well.
• Don’t rely on pushy sales tactics. People can tell when they’re being sold to constantly, and it pushes them away. Not every interaction has to be a sales talk.
• Don’t compare the start of your journey to another writer who is further along. Every successful author started with zero readers, so there’s no benefit in comparing your early stages to someone who has already put in a lot of the work you’re just starting on.
• Don’t fall for people selling quick fixes. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This can include vanity presses who make unrealistic promises about marketing reach, or buying followers to bulk your social cred. Fake numbers don’t translate to real readers, and social platforms are increasingly good at detecting and penalising artificial growth. Plus, you’ll increase your chances of bot engagement which both looks unprofessional, and creates more work for you.
• Don’t forget to do some writing! Marketing matters, but not at the expense of writing. Because a lot of marketing strategies will start while you’re writing, you need to make sure that you make time to actually finish. And if you’re ready to publish, then your next book is often your best marketing tool. If you keep up the pace and keep releasing new work, then you’ll also be finding new readers. There’s a reason that backlist titles are so important.
• Don’t be invisible. The most important, and most-often overlooked thing that you need to have in place is a somewhere that people can find your work. If someone remembers your name, can they Google you and find out where they can purchase your books either now or in the future? If they engage with you online and click through to your profile, can they learn more about you and your work? A website or a link tree on your social profiles is absolutely essential.

What to do when it feels overwhelming

If the whole idea of self-promotion makes you want to crawl back into your writing cave and never emerge, don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. Most writers find marketing genuinely difficult, and that’s okay. There’s something comforting in knowing we’re all in the same boat.

Start small. Pick one thing and stick with it. Maybe it’s posting once a week about your writing, or joining one online community in your genre and just chatting about books you love. See how it feels, and adjust as you go. Add more only when your current approach feels manageable and don’t be afraid to pull back if it gets too much again.

Marketing doesn’t have to mean shouting into the void about your book. It can mean having conversations, being helpful, sharing things you find interesting, and occasionally mentioning that yes, you wrote a book, and it’s available if anyone’s curious. Just make sure that if someone goes looking, they can find it.