Hi, hello! The Vindicated Queen, the sequel to The Throwaway Queen and my fourth indie publication, is practically here! On November 18th, you can have the complete Ushallav’s Queen duology. If you’re reading this blog post, you’re already my favorite person because you saw the title and wanted to know how to celebrate with me and support me. That means a lot!
Today, I just wanted to walk you through the ways that an audience can shape a book’s destiny. After all, there are thousands, if not billions, of books out there—so how do we determine if a book becomes beloved or goes viral? It’s not just up to luck; the publisher or author can only do so much to market the book to convince readers that whatever’s coming out HAS to be on your TBR. I’d argue that once the book belongs to the people, they’re the ones who determine what’s hot and what’s not.
So whether you’re particularly supportive of my work or you love and adore many other authors, these are some ways to support all of us and help us find our ideal readers.
Preorder, Preorder, Preorder
I’ll start with this one even though the Vindicated Queen preorder has long since passed. Book preorders determine a lot of factors for a book. For example, a book becomes a bestseller if the preorder goes really well. All the preorders are considered Day 1 sales, and if the numbers fit or exceed expectations, authors get to elevate their title to “bestselling author.” But preorders also help build anticipation and buzz around a book so it’s no surprise when the book is finally out. A preorder is a strategy that can propel a book toward success long after the release date.
So if you come across a book for preorder, you can obviously wait to buy it in person. However, if you want to throw in extra support, consider preordering. Especially with fiction/fantasy, a lot of preorders come with fun swag as a thank-you incentive for supporting early.
Shoutout to the queens who preordered my book! I still get chills thinking about their generosity and support when I needed it most.
Leave Honest Book Reviews
Of course, publishing books is not just about moving units—it’s about finding ideal readers to read and enjoy the story. And honest book reviews are a great way to communicate with future fans of any book.
Ideal readers are the type of people we authors envision when writing our stories. What would they like or dislike? What is different or nuanced from what they’ve read in the past? What choices will be extra satisfying?
Reviews help readers know if a book is worth the hype and/or delivers on the promised tropes. And you don’t need to only use Goodreads. There are plenty of other places to rate and review books like Storygraph, Pagebound, bookworm, Tome, and more. You can also leave reviews wherever you bought the book, like Amazon, B&N, indie bookstores, etc.
A word to the wise: book reviews are primarily for readers and passively for authors. I recommend not tagging me or other authors in reviews unless they’re very kind. If you have honest things to say, readers need to hear that. The review should also focus on the book and not the author. We don’t need to rate humans; just give opinions on the story itself.
Request Books Through Bookstores & Libraries
Whether you borrow or buy books, requesting your favorite books can be a huge game-changer. While other authors and I are doing our best to contact booksellers, they’re more inclined to listen to what their community members want to see on the shelf. So if you want to see more of your favorite titles, place a request.
Bookstores can order just about any book (unless it’s exclusively on Amazon), and you can pick it up later. If they start to see a trend of certain titles or genres getting requested, they may order more for the store to satisfy the demand. With libraries, you can fill out an online request form. It may take longer to get the book in, but authors like me appreciate the patience.
Attend Book Tour Events
Whether an author is indie or traditional, we LIVE for book events. It’s our victory lap after months or years of working on our books. So it means so much when we set up one or several events, and people physically show up for us. But it also communicates to whoever hosts us that we have a certain pull or influence in the community. They’ll likely continue to order our books or host us for future events. And hey, bonus points for bringing friends who haven’t heard of us but would likely give us a chance after hearing a reading or Q&A.
Recommend Favorites to Local Book Clubs
Whether it’s during release season or even years later, you can’t go wrong with recommending books to your local book club(s). I’ve seen a resurgence in book clubs because we all love an excuse to meet up for snacks and chatting. Whether you’re involved in a friend group book club or one through a bookstore or library, this is a great way to keep things going for a book or series. I’ll speak for myself personally, but many authors would love to attend the book clubs and be a part of the conversation, like a Q&A.
To me, this is the kind of slow and steady growth that I’d like to achieve. I want to be better known in my community as a great writer, but also a great friend to other authors and readers. It’s so cool to talk to people who not only bought a copy but also read it and had thoughts to share.
Shoutout the Book with Ideal Readers—Online and In Person
Finally, word-of-mouth marketing is still the top way to share books. I saved the best for last! If you post online or talk about books in person, you have some level of influence regardless of follower count. Sharing shoutouts, reviews, flatlays, etc. is so helpful and valuable to authors and readers.
Especially if you’re sharing because you simply love the book, it communicates to others that the book is genuinely enjoyable. The author and publishers are doing all the marketing, but you don’t have to do the same thing. Just share your genuine thoughts about a book so ideal readers find these titles. You don’t even have to spend a ton of money to put up a post, fanart, blog post, etc. to shout out your favorite stories.
We’ve seen all kinds of books stand the test of time, and it’s because of the readers. And we can debate whether certain viral books are worth the hype, but does that matter? What matters is that throughout time, authors have told their stories, and readers received them. And for many authors, if they have support (large or small), they will continue to tell more stories. This industry is tough, and we often go into it understanding that we won’t earn enough money from our art and do it anyway.
So thank you for what you do to support creatives like me! And on Tuesday, you’ll be able to find The Vindicated Queen wherever books are sold, including my online book shop. I can’t wait for you to revisit Queen Anjali’s world and see what she’s been up to.
Did I leave anything out? What are additional ways readers can and do support new book releases?
