Whether you’re a first-time author or you have published prolifically with MQUP or other presses, we are pleased to offer suggestions about how you can be an active participant in the promotion of your book.
Getting Prepared
We rely heavily on author input to build marketing plans for all books. Two important methods for obtaining your input include the MQUP Author Questionnaire (sent to you when your book is scheduled to appear in an upcoming catalogue) and the MQUP Marketing Questionnaire (sent to you when the catalogue is finalized). In advance of these questionnaires, we recommend that you prepare the following:
- Key features and audience: Most authors have already considered what makes their book unique and who would be interested in reading it. Before filling out the MQUP Author Questionnaire and Marketing Questionnaire, think deeply about your intended audience and exactly what you’re offering them in your book. The more we know about the target audience and what separates your book from others like it, the better we can promote it.
- Contact lists: A list of personal and professional email addresses can be extremely useful in generating early word of mouth about your book’s forthcoming release. Create and maintain an Excel document of names and email addresses as you think of contacts or make new ones. You can also add the names of journalists you come across who write about topics close to your book; we can incorporate these names into our press release distribution. You will also want to prepare a list of any media contacts with whom you are in touch or shows on which you have previously appeared.
- Keywords: Create a list of keywords that prospective readers would use to find your title using an online search engine. This will help you narrow down the specific interests or concerns your book is addressing. These keywords will also be attached to your book’s metadata. Best practices recommend a minimum of five words or very short phrases to a maximum of five hundred characters.
- Market prediction: Find comparable titles (similar topic, audience, or scope) published in the last five years. Consider where that book was reviewed, where it was advertised, and how you discovered it. This will also help you complete the MQUP Marketing Questionnaire.
- Endorsements: Authors are encouraged to think about the names of peers and colleagues – or in some cases public figures, journalists, authors, influencers, or even celebrities – who might provide an endorsement (or “blurb”) for the jacket or cover of their book. In most cases, we have space for only one or two endorsements on the jacket or cover, so think about who you would want us to prioritize. Those who are willing to provide a blurb usually already have some kind of connection to the author or the subject matter.
What You Can Do
In a true spirit of collaboration, here are ten things you can do as an author to help promote your book:
- Update your personal/professional website with information about your book and a link to your book’s listing on the MQUP site.
- Add your book’s MQUP weblink to your email signature with or without the cover image.
- If you are on social media, ensure that your book is featured prominently on your account page(s). Incorporate your book cover into the banner image (ask us for help preparing a graphic if needed) and add information about your book to your bio. For example, “author of [book title] published by @McGillQueensUP.”
- Set up author pages on Amazon and Goodreads. On Amazon, this involves joining Author Central, providing a rich personal bio and an up-to-date author photo, and connecting your profile to any active social media accounts. On Goodreads, you’ll need to join the Goodreads Author Program and upload the same information you shared on your Amazon author page.
- Send out an announcement about your book to all friends, family, colleagues, and members of any community group or organization with which you’re affiliated. This can be via email and/or on social media and can be done both pre-publication and upon arrival of the final printed book. (Tip: Sharing a photo on social media when your author copies first arrive in the mail is a surprisingly effective way to drive interest and engagement.)
- Ask your closest friends, family, and colleagues to pre-order/order a copy of the book through their preferred bookseller and to provide a customer review on Amazon, Goodreads, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, or wherever they search for or purchase books online. Ask them to add the book to a bookshelf on Goodreads.
- Contact the communications or media relations team at your institution so they can profile your publication and liaise with our own marketing department about how they might assist promotional efforts.
- Write to major media outlets directly, asking if they’d like an op-ed piece on a newsworthy item, weaving in the concerns of your book. You can also reach out to podcasts in your field and ask to be interviewed. On acceptance, contact our publicist immediately and we can arrange to send a review copy of your book.
- Write a piece for The Conversation, a public venue of “explanatory journalism” for scholars. This will increase the audience reach of your book. You can also write a piece for the MQUP blog!
- Consider organizing a book launch, panel discussion, public lecture, workshop, or other event based on your book. MQUP will provide support, ensuring books are available for sale and helping to promote the event. We would also love to attend, depending on location and availability! Events help to drive awareness of your book and are still one of the best ways to celebrate your amazing accomplishment.
A Note on Marketing Scams
As a published author, you can expect to be targeted by email scams disguised as book marketing opportunities. These scams, powered mostly by AI, may offer you a range of marketing or editorial services or include effusive remarks about your book from well-known publishing industry insiders, popular authors, book clubs, libraries, or literary foundations.
While legitimate marketing firms and services can help you grow your profile and publicize your work, we recommend a healthy dose of skepticism if you receive any unsolicited emails from people or organizations you don't know offering marketing services or inviting you to participate in an event for your book. In all cases, before responding, please be wary and conduct some online research regarding the source. You can also contact our sales and marketing team for advice on the legitimacy of these requests should you have any questions.