This is an Author Toolbox post. And the last one for 2018, because our fearless leader knows how crazy November (NaNoWriMo!) and December (HOLIDAYS!) get. If you missed out for this year, it’s okay. Head on over to Raimey Gallant’s website, sign your author self up, and we’ll see you in 2019!
So author friends. There are roughly nine shopping weeks left until Christmas arrives, heralded by the distinct sound of gift wrap ripping. Even less time left for those of you shopping for Hanukkah (47 days! Chag Sameach!)
Don’t give me that look. I know we haven’t even had Halloween yet. Time and gift tides wait for no one.
Be of good cheer, because I have an early present for you. This is a list of the different options I have found, begged, borrowed, or heard of, to promote your books.
Feel free to copy and paste this into your own document and work down it all next year. I don’t guarantee every site will work for your book, but at least a few of them should.
Advertising Sites
The Romance Studio.com For romance authors, starting at 5$ for a simple blog ad and going up to 40$ for a newsletter feature on just your book. Their featured membership is $5.00 per month which gives you some great perks, like posting to their blog on weekends, request a book feature, shout outs of your news, etc.
The TBR Pile.weebly.com Primarily for erotic romance authors. From 8$ for a newsletter mention to 75$ for the ultimate promo bundle.
AllAuthor.com All authors, as it says, and it’s a kind of BookBub-lite flavor. For a complete breakdown on their offerings check out my older toolbox post, Adding AllAuthor to Your Author Toolbox
Romrevtoday.com For romance authors. Free for reviews, chats and author contests. From 10$ for a home page ad to 50$ for a custom banner ad.
GayBookPromotions.wordpress.com LGBT romance and fiction authors. They offer everything from 1 day blog tours (35$) to 10 day promotional blog tours (80$).
www.manicreaders.com Romance book site. You can create an author profile with them and an author page (2.99$ a month) or opt for ads. Starting at 10$ for a month-long static cover ad and working up to 275$ for a year long premium ad package with mixed rotating ads throughout the year, an author interview, and spotlight on the website.
TheDarkerStudio.com For horror, dark fantasy, thrillers and it looks like a smattering of SciFi. Starting at 5$ a month for a simple blog ad and working up to 35$ for a featured newsletter sent out just about your book.
TheRomanceReviews.com Like a BookBub site, but pure romance. Create an author profile with them and an author page (this is free) and then you can purchase ads to run on the site for a month. They’re constantly doing games, giveaways and raffles to promote their authors, too.
TheYAStudio.com For young adult authors. Like the Romance Studio and the Darker Studio (they’re the same company). Starting at 5$ a month for blog ads, up to 15$ a month for featured cover ads. They will also design a book trailer for you (25$).
NightOwlReviews.com Looks like they offer romance, YA, Paranormal, SciFi, and Suspense options. Some advertising options are pricey (80$ a month for a cover feature on their home page) but their scavenger hunt pricing isn’t bad and they offer an author account so you can list your books in their site directory which appears to be free.
And, of course, there are always the Big Three. Let’s all assume together that “Big” translates as, “big advertising prices”.
Amazon Book Bub and Goodreads.
(Goodreads has a little questionnaire you fill out and when it comes to “budget” the options were “less than 1000”, “1000 to 2000” and “more than 2000” and I just put my head down on my desk and laughed until I cried while a little piece of my soul gave up and died. So there’s that.)
here is my favorite gif ever, as an apology for that litany of $$$$$
In the future I’ll have a curated list for you of all the websites/blogs I’ve found that will review your book, if you ask nicely and have the kind of books they wish to read. Until then, enjoy this list, and the ever increasing speed of your slide towards holiday season.
Thank you for being so gracious in your resources. What a great early present this is!
You’re very welcome!
OMG is my first thought. Nine weeks left. I had no idea…Should I panic now? Thanks for the lists of sites. That’s very helpful.
I thought it would be fun to include and the joke was on me, because I looked it up on Google and panicked a little! LOL
“Less than a 1,000.” Lol, indeed. I’m still laughing. This is so great! I’ll definitely be sharing your list, and I’m saving for future use as well. 🙂
Hope it’s helpful! I’m ready to start trying these out next year and I can’t wait to see what happens 🙂
I love this list of promotional resources. And thank you for including many different genres. 🙂
It was more difficult than I thought to find other genres than romance, but that’s what I write so that’s where my focus is. I wish I’d had more to give you 🙁
Thanks for the list and happy holidays. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
You’re welcome!
Love this! Definitely worth checking out in the new year 🙂
Ronel visiting on Author Toolbox blog hop day: Running Your Author Empire
Happy Toolbox hop day!
Great list. I’d love to hear which sites you’ve used and think have worked the best.
So far I’ve only used Allauthor and I love their benefits. It hasn’t translated to a ton of sales, but the media they offer is great. I think I’ll focus on trying these through 2019 and lead up to a post on how they worked 🙂
Great list, thanks for sharing 🙂 (I’m so not ready for Christmas!)
Haha, me either! I thought I’d share the pain.