“How long should I promote my book? Two months? Three months?”

Authors ask me this question all the time.

They’re often surprised by my answer: You should promote your book as long as it’s available for purchase and the content is relevant.

The book launch myth

I’m surprised at how many authors put all their effort into the period around the publication date, then abruptly stop. They abandon the book, even if (or especially if) they’re disappointed with sales results.

That’s often because many, many authors — you, maybe? — mistakenly believe that they can only promote their book when it’s new. That’s the farthest thing from the truth.

But they have this impression because there’s a lot of hoopla and hullabaloo around book launches. You can easily find launch courses and checklists online.

You’ll have to look a little harder, though to find programs like my Book Marketing 101 courses that look at book promotion more wholistically and explain how to support your books over the long term.

Readers don’t care about your publication date

In reality, you can — and should — promote and market your book as long as it’s available for purchase.

Readers don’t care if your book came out last week, last month, or last year. All they care about is that it’s a good book.

Here are five things you can do to promote your fiction and nonfiction books long after the launch has come and gone.

1. Pitch yourself to the press as an expert source.

If you’ve written a book on a topic, you’re an expert. Your expertise doesn’t have an expiration date. Your book is a long-lasting credential. But don’t wait for journalists to find you — go to them.

Note that you don’t have to be a nonfiction author to be an expert source. Novelists typically do a great deal of research around situations, professions, themes, and other specifics for their books. What did you learn more than you ever thought you would while researching your fiction? You can probably talk to the media about it with confidence.

Also read:

• Finding the hidden news hooks in your fiction
• How to be your own book publicist
• Promoting your book: 8 ways to pitch media outlets
• How to get trade journal publicity

2. Speak about your book’s topic.

Whether your ideal readers belong to the Junior League, Rotary International, or the National Society of Accountants, you can identify a topic that will resonate with them.

While this is often thought of as a tactic for nonfiction writers, novelists can also speak about topics related to their book’s content.

Also read:

• 5 real good reasons to be an author who’s a public speaker

3. Do podcast interviews.

Let’s be honest. Authors who hit the bestseller list as soon as their books are released are busy, busy, busy. They don’t have time to be interviewed by every podcast host who wants them as a guest, so they give their time to the most popular shows.

That leaves everyone else to interview everyone else, right?

The best part? Podcast hosts don’t necessarily need you to have a “new book” credential to book you. They just need you to be a good guest with something interesting to say.

Also read:

• 19 cool podcast facts every author needs to know
• Podcasts and authors: Should you be a host or guest?
• 19 of the best podcasts for authors and writers

4. Guest blog.

Blog hosts want interesting, original content for their readers.

Your book doesn’t have to be new for you to provide what blogs need and want. In fact, the longer your book has been out and the more you’ve learned about reader reactions to it, the better able you are to write guest posts that will address reader interests.

Also read:

• The guest blogging audience most novelists don’t know about
• 4 reasons to embrace guest blogging
• Download our free Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet

5. Use social media to keep your book title in front of the right readers.

Not too long ago, I bought a book because the author posted on Instagram that the Kindle version was on sale for three days. I’ve been meaning to buy it, but had forgotten to do so.

Then this $1.99 Kindle deal showed up in my Instagram feed. It was a no-brainer. (When I told my daughters about it, they each bought a copy, too, because they had heard good things about the book.)

You know that you don’t want to smother people with marketing messages and images on social media, but regular, appropriate, and humble posts will help remind people (like me) that your book is out there waiting to be read and loved.

You can also use social media months and months after your book is published to remind people to review it on Amazon, Goodreads, and elsewhere. Encourage them to request it at bookstores and libraries, too.

Also read:

• Want to attract readers? Create social media content that resonates
• Instagram Stories for authors: How to create and use them
• Boost social media success with these 3 image types
• Create book promotion quote graphics
• BookTok for book marketing
• Three keys to selling more books with social media

Don’t forget . . .

There’s a lot more you can do, too. But here’s what’s important to remember:

• You don’t want to merely launch your book and move on. You want to continue to promote it months or even years later so it can educate, entertain, or inform the people you know will love it.
• Readers don’t care if your book is “new.” All they care about is that it’s good.

Want to learn more? Register for the “Book Marketing 101 for Fiction: How to Build Book Buzz” or “Book Marketing 101 for Nonfiction: How to Build Book Buzz” e-course to learn how to do all of these things and more.

What can you do today to promote your not-so-new book? 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2018. It has been updated and expanded.)

You will start seeing a lot of them now as talk shows, magazines, newspapers, bloggers, podcasters, and content sites start creating holiday gift guides.

That article helps you generate roundup ideas for your book not just for the winter holidays but for year-round, and suggests what you might do with those ideas.

You’ll see that there are roundup opportunities for all types of books. Whether you write thrillers, self-help, romance, or business books, you can create a roundup around it.

Roundup topic examples

While roundups are often built around books (who hasn’t seen a “best summer beach reads” list?), they can also be focused on many types of products in a specific category or related to a single topic. 

Category or topic roundups that include multiple product types are often seasonal:

• 20 holiday gifts for under $20
• Must haves for every back-to-school shopping list
• What every gardener needs to own
• Gifts every sports fan wants
• 10 Mother’s Day gifts she’ll never forget

Examples of book-specific roundups include:

• Best books to curl up with in front of a fireplace
• New cookbooks offering innovation from fresh voices
• Time-tested parenting books
• Memoirs you’ll never want to put down
• Books that will make you stay up all night reading

You can see the potential for your book already, right?

How to use your roundup article ideas

In addition to linking to actual published roundup examples, “Promote your book with a roundup article” explains how to turn your roundup article idea into a press release that you mass-distribute to the media and bloggers. I include a free press release template you can use for this. (My favorite press release distribution service is eReleases and that’s an affiliate link for a 33 percent discount.) 

You can also turn your idea into a blog post or newsletter article.

But what if you want to “pitch” your idea to a few specific media outlets? Your idea might appeal to certain newspapers, a few magazines, or even a network television morning show, right?

Pitching your roundup to specific media outlets

It’s important to be thoughtful and targeted. Here’s how to do that.

1. Understand which media outlets are the best fit for your idea.

For example, you wouldn’t pitch AARP the Magazine on a story on “the best books to guide you through your first job,” right?

In one of the examples in the earlier blog post, an Adirondack mystery author pitching a roundup on books set in the Adirondack Mountains, best bets would be a daily newspaper in that part of New York State, Adirondack Life magazine, or a magazine for hikers.

2. Be clear on where your idea fits into the media outlet’s content. 

If it’s a magazine, what section does it fit into?

If you’re targeting daily newspapers, which section is most likely to use your idea — business? Lifestyle? Sports?

When you’re pitching a TV talk show, consider whether your idea would be used as a sit-down chat or if could involve a demonstration with the host.

In your pitch, share where or how you think your roundup will best fit. This tells the person you’re pitching that you’re familiar with the outlet’s format — and that’s important.

3. Decide which individual should receive your e-mailed pitch at any outlet you’re pitching.

That will take some sleuthing, and could involve online research, going through back issues of the magazine online or at the library, using media directories at the library, or calling the media outlet.

Learn more about how to do that in “How to build a killer book publicity media list.”

4. Write and e-mail a great pitch letter.

A pitch letter is a sales letter that needs to convince an editor, reporter, or producer to use your idea.

In the letter, you’ll summarize your roundup idea and why it’s a good fit for that media outlet. In addition to your book, include a few other books or products you believe are a good fit so the media gatekeeper is better able to visualize the concept.

Learning how to write a solid pitch letter is so important that Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates has a fill-in-the-blanks form that walks you through the process (plus a sample letter). I’ve also included a lesson about it in the two “Book Marketing 101: How to Build Book Buzz” e-courses.

5. E-mail your pitch to yourself first.

For some reason, this last step helps me identify awkward phrasing or typos I missed before. I can’t explain why, but it gives me the distance I need to help me improve the pitch. It might help you, too.

Be both realistic and creative in your brainstorming to come up with an idea that media outlets will love.

What would be a good roundup article topic for your book? Please tell us in a comment.

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2014. It has been updated and expanded.)