a. Six weeks after publication date

b. Six months after publication date

c. Three years after publication date

d. None of the above

If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know my answer is “d. None of the above.” I constantly remind authors that they should be promoting their books as long as they’re available for purchase.

Allow me to give you new hope for old books.

Readers don’t care about publication dates

As I pointed out in “5 ways to promote your book long after the launch,” readers don’t care when your book is published. All they care about is whether it’s a good book.

In case you doubt me, I’ve got proof.

In her February 27, 2021 Wall Street Journal Off Duty section column, “The 8 Crucial Books for Novice Home and Garden Designers,” Michelle Slatalla shares her favorite books from her personal design book library.

They “cover what I consider the four topics you need to tackle when creating a home: landscaping, architecture, interior design and decoration,” she wrote.

Round ’em up

Articles like this are called “roundups.” A roundup usually gathers up the best, worst, most, least, newest, top, funniest, etc. products related to a specific category or theme.

Sometimes they’re focused on a specific topic and product category – in this case, home design books. In other situations, they incorporate all types of products. (Learn more about them in “Promote your book with a roundup article.”)

I recognized one of the titles in Slatalla’s roundup and knew it was published at least a decade ago. I suspected others might be older books, too, so I checked publication dates for all eight of them.

Documented hope for old books

There wasn’t a single new book on this shelf. The newest book was published in 2017; the oldest in 1989.

Here are the tiles and publication dates:

1. Time Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning: 1991
2. On Decorating: 1989
3. Garden Design: 2003
4. The Anatomy of Colour: 2017
5. Home Comforts: 2005
6. The Oriental Carpet: 1981
7. A Field Guide to American Houses: Revised 2015
8. The Furniture Bible: 2014

This proves that a good book is a good book, whether it was published five months or 15 years ago.

Few authors enjoy immediate success

This is an important fact to absorb and embrace. Too many authors are discouraged when their book isn’t a huge success as soon as it goes live on Amazon and elsewhere.

They think that because they sold five copies that first week instead of 500, that the book isn’t as good as they thought it was. And they stop promoting it, which is really unfortunate.

But that’s not how it usually works. Gaining popularity can take a long time. If you give up on your book too soon, you’ll never know what it feels like to see your title on a “best of” list like this.

Stay with it. Keep promoting. Your book deserves that, and so do you.

What are you going today to promote your book so the people you wrote it for hear about it? It’s never too late to get the word out. 

Is your book on any of those lists?

Maybe it isn’t, but it probably belongs in some other editorial “roundup” article about books, whether it’s now or another time of the year.

What’s a “roundup” article?

So what, exactly, is a roundup article?

For book publicity purposes, a roundup usually gathers up the best, worst, most, least, newest, top, funniest, etc. products related to a specific category or theme.

Examples of roundups specific to books include:

• Top InstantPot/slow cooker/air fryer cookbooks
• Most popular romance novels this year
• Best new gardening books
• 7 home improvement books you can’t live without
• Great books for newlyweds
• Treasured all-occasion gift books

There are also topic roundups that include other products besides books. Here are a few ideas:

• Best gifts for new college grads
• 10 must-have tools for every home kitchen
• 15 things parents say they can’t live without
• Favorite stress management resources
• Top home office products

You get the point, right? Roundups are easy to spot once you’re aware of them. You’ll find them in online media sites, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.

Your book’s roundup topic

Your book can be part of a roundup article that appears in the press, too. To make that happen, first determine the roundup topic.

Start with your category. If it’s fiction, is it science fiction, historical romance, chick lit, hen lit, mystery, young adult, or children’s? If it’s nonfiction, is it a self-help, health, memoir, biography, business, or how-to book? There are more, of course. The point is, get specific.

Next, move from category to sub-category. For example, my recently updated book, Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book, is a business book. That’s the category. The book teaches authors how to write a press release that announces a book, so the sub-category could be “authors.”

Use the category and sub-category to brainstorm topic ideas. For example, knowing that my book is for authors with a new book, the roundup topic for it might be, “Best books for new authors” or “Top resources for authors launching books.”

Written a mystery set in New York’s Adirondack Mountains? Get regional publicity with a roundup on “10 books that showcase the Adirondacks.” Need some attention for your book on how to care for a dog? “20 books all dog owners should own.” Got a young adult novel coming out? “18 teen gift ideas.”

How to use your roundup idea

There are a couple of ways to turn your roundup idea into something that generates results.

You can pitch the idea to the press (more on how to do that in “How to pitch a round-up article“) or you can create a press release that helps do the job for them. 

To write the press release, simply do the research to build the list of options for your roundup topic, and include your book in the mix. If it’s a “books only” roundup, you probably know what other books to include because they’re your top competition.

If your roundup idea includes non-book products, you know your topic and audience so well that you already know what should be on your list.

For example, if your topic is “top home office products” and your book is related to remote work (something a lot of employees are familiar with right now) or solopreneurship, you might also recommend a stand-up desk and ergonomic office chair, among other products.

Download this roundup press release template

I’ve created this downloadable fill-in-the-blanks press release you can use to do that. Click here to view, then download it:

Build Book Buzz roundup press release template

For information on how to distribute it to the press and bloggers, read “How to build a killer book publicity media list.” If you don’t use my preferred press release distribution service mentioned in that article, be sure to read “How to email a press release to journalists” before hitting the send button.

Actual roundup examples

Here are a few published roundups to give you an idea of your end goal, whether you’re pitching the idea or writing and distributing a press release.

• 20 Books to Read in Quarantine This Summer
• 16 Best Political Books to Read Before the 2020 Election
• The 26 Best Baby Shower Gifts of 2020

Remember, you can also use the list as a blog post or newsletter article. I do this every year with holiday gifts for authors and writers. I don’t pitch the idea to writer’s publications or newsletters, and I don’t send a press release, but I hope I help my readers and the people who shop for them at the holidays.

Spend some time thinking about what type of list your book should be a part of, then take action. It’s a fun way to support your book and those of others.

What roundup article should your book appear in? Share your book’s topic and the roundup title in a comment.

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2013. It has been updated and expanded.)