For this month’s author feature, we’ve asked Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone, to share her best marketing tips and tricks from her illustrious career as a writer. Having published six novels, she’s been featured by the likes of People magazine, CNN, the New York Post, the Washington Post, Library Journal, Buzzfeed, and many more—basically, she has a lot of valuable knowledge to share. So, without further ado, we now pass the baton to Randy.

 

 

There is a subset of writers for whom promotion and marketing come naturally—men and women who instinctively get (and enjoy) the many sides of promotion. Come launch day, they leap from bed, put on their (bright red!) lipstick, shrug a perfect blazer on their sharp shoulders, flick their perfectly cut hair over their collar, smile wide, and greet the readers of the world with joy.

Then there are the rest of us, who slouch toward book release day with equal amounts of dread and fear. If we’re lucky (and smartish), we’ve read Naked at the Podium, a must-have guide for readers. If we’re massively unlucky, we live in the killer zone of denial and decide that winging a launch will be fine. At least our wrinkled shirt is clean!

Or not.

And hey, didn’t we put our book up on social media? Over and over and over?

 

Can you choose joy in marketing? Is that even possible?

 

Sometimes, I suppose, it’s possible to find joy in marketing, but I’m using my definition of joy: that which profoundly sustains my interest—being absorbed.

If you can’t pull up joy (and I often can’t), absorbing works wonderfully.

I adore being absorbed. Writing this piece absorbs me, even if I’m not jumping for joy. The work of creation nourishes me. Self-engagement is what I want marketing my novel to bring, because if I’m interested, there’s a better chance of my reader catching that excitement.

We need fascination, interest, and preoccupation—even, dare I say it, obsession—because if I’m bored with what I’m doing, there’s a good chance my potential reader will be yawning, too.

Authors’ promotion is different from the marketing and publicity work done by our publishers, publicists, and marketing people—whether they come from inside our publisher’s domain or are outside professionals. They are professionals and know their business.

The marketing we do—think social media, events, emails, author newsletters, walking the streets with a sandwich board—is the part that can destroy our souls if we’re not careful. Worse, promotion done with resentment or desperation can work directly against our intentions.

We want readers to know we’ve written a book. (Because they’re readers—and books are what they want.) But we don’t want them rolling their eyes as we jump up and down and shout “Me! Me! Me!” We’re seducing, yes? Tempting them to hunt down our books. Thus, consider these tips:

 

You Don’t Have to Do Every Single Kind of Social Media

 

In truth, unless you can participate in an authentic and semienjoyable way, you probably shouldn’t join in any. One could make social media a full-time job between Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X (formerly known as Twitter), Bluesky, TikTok, and whichever was born between yesterday and now.

How do you choose which to participate in? Ask yourself:

• Which feels comfortable?
• Where do your friends, family, and cohorts participate?
• Which do you find interesting?

We’re far more likely to be intriguing and watchable when comfortable and enjoying being “on camera.” Though I’m engaged watching TikTok—my go-to for ensuring I brush my teeth for at least two minutes and put on all twenty layers of my nightly skincare routine—I have neither the aptitude nor the desire to film myself doing anything.

Thus, I am only a consumer of TikTok. However, if you love being on film, then that’s the place for you.

Instagram and Facebook work for me as an author because:

• I understand how to use them.
• I choose platforms where my friends and family participate.
• The tone is easy for me.
• There is plenty of book talk.
• I can boost posts from my author page.
• It doesn’t make me nervous (as TikTok would).
• I have two Facebook identities—personal and author pages—which allow room for me to spread out.

I work to avoid the pitfalls that can work against me. I put up not-about-my-books posts between book news to prevent becoming the ME-ME-ME monster we all cringe at. I control my tendency toward political posts on my official author page. However, I don’t shy away from being open about my politics (my novels sure don’t) on my personal page—even though it’s set to public views; being political is pretty on brand for me as a writer.

Threads and Bluesky are my places for news and politics—if I find readers there, it’s simply a good accident.

Most importantly, finding a social media place where you can authentically connect with people is the best signal that you’re in the right place to do just the right amount of promotion. Many of my friends (readers and other writers) have come through Facebook.

 

Be Your Best You—And Have Fun with It!

 

I shall never forget the first time I did an event with another author (on television, mind you) for whom cleanliness was not a cousin to godliness. He wore a crumpled shirt complemented by an overpowering natural scent.

I didn’t need the lesson on bathing or deodorant, but it helped me focus on joy in formulating my image. People see who we put in front of them. If we bring a crumpled us (or not-that-clean us) to a book audience, we tell them we don’t care too much about them. The truth might be that we’re dismissive or ignorant about fashion and thus step away from it, but your potential readers don’t know.

So, with my debut novel, I moved determinedly from sweatpants-schleppy Randy to building whom I wanted to present to the world. And I had fun with it. I researched (best hairstylists! best professional clothes for round bodies!) and took advantage of experts. I went to Bloomingdales and found the person whose look I most admired, and asked them to help.

When I tell anyone in fashion/style/hair/makeup that I’m an author looking to upgrade, they approach my face with the glee of Rumpelstiltskin, transforming straw into gold with lipstick and mascara.

Approach your transformation like research—we know how to do that. Figure out whom you want to bring to the front of the room and do it with love toward yourself. I can’t make myself tall, young, or into a Breck Girl (how old do I sound now?), but I can make myself seem as wise, warm, comfortable, and polished as possible—which is my goal.

 

Practice for the Joy of Being Prepared

 

I bring hours of practice to every event. What exactly will I speak about? I plan assiduously to avoid blathering. I never read aloud for more than three to five minutes (based on research I’ve done), and when I read from my book, I expurgate the passage (not every written word works well as a spoken-word piece). Then I practice twenty to thirty times. While I don’t get a lick of joy out of the practice (ugh, the sound of my voice), I become secure in my presentation, which brings well-being and a better performance. Preparation also leaves room for the fun, off-the-cuff stuff.

 

Be Yourself

 

There is nothing as endearing as self-deprecation and humor (even when discussing the most serious of books).

We writers worry that readers will only appreciate us if we tell them how smart, researched, and admired we are.

A better tactic is adopting the show-don’t-tell method of writing we often use. I work hard to show myself as interesting, caring, or funny, but I can’t convince them by reading a list of accomplishments. (It does take practice and work to come off as lighthearted, including going to many other writers’ events to steal their good techniques and learn their bad habits.)

If you go to an author’s event, whether to steal their ideas or judge what they do wrong, buy their book! That is non-negotiable. 

 

Enjoy the Truth of Less Is More

 

At a recent conference, I read a passage from my novel. The organizers told me to stick to five minutes. Being a rule follower, I kept it to three-and-a-half minutes—leaving room for the impromptu remarks I never can resist. Plus, I wanted to show respect to the others on my panel.

The author following me read for over ten minutes (never looking up) and followed those ten with many minutes of her-her-her. She described how long and hard she’d worked, how many barriers she’d faced, and how proud she was of her book.

How very proud she was of herself!

Her time could have gone better. Shuffling, pen-clicking, and rustling sounds filled the room during her time. You could feel the sadness at her neediness.

Less is more. Coco Chanel advised women to remove one accessory or piece of jewelry before leaving the house. Leave readers wanting more—that will send them to your book. Bury the frantic feelings (But I want them to hear this. And this. And this!).

Always consider shortening what you plan to read.

 

Consider the Joy of Investing in Yourself

 

I’ve paid for a third-party publicist and marketing person outside of what my publisher offered since my first novel released. I will never know the increased coverage I got from the incredible women I’ve worked with, but I know it was 100 percent more than I would have received without them. I don’t have their skill, connections, tenacity, or patience.

Selling oneself is challenging—some parts of that task are impossible. Having solid professionals on my side is the most significant security and joy I can get during a launch.

I’ve done all I preach in this piece and more—and I’ve listened to fellow authors say, “You’re lucky—you’re so good at promotion!”

No.

I’m not. 

At heart, I’m an introverted extrovert. I can pull out the inner performer, but afterward, I collapse. I’d always rather be in a T-shirt and sweats on my computer. But I take joy in preparing well enough to give readers—the men and women kind enough to provide me with their time, interact with me on social media, and come to my presentations and events—the best I can. They are doing me a favor, not vice versa, and I lean on the joy of doing as well as possible in their honor.

 

 

About the Author: Internationally bestselling author Randy Susan Meyers has published six novels. Target chose Meyer’s first novel, The Murderer’s Daughters, as their nationwide book club pick. Accidents of Marriage was chosen as a People magazine pick. Parade magazine, Pop Sugar, BookBub, Women.com, Get Literary, and Brit.Com chose Waisted as a Top 2019 Summer Read. She has been featured in or reviewed by CNN, New York Post, Washington Post, Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Shelf Awareness, Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, Buzzfeed, Self magazine, and many others. Meyers is a Brooklyn-Boston mix who believes happiness requires family, friends, books, and an occasional NY bagel. She lives in Boston with her husband, where she teaches writing seminars at Boston’s Grub Street Writers’ Center. She also teaches at Northampton’s Writer in Progress.