If you’ve tried to get your book into distribution—whether through a trade distributor, library supplier, or aggregator—you’ll know this question by heart:

“What publicity do you have planned?”

It’s a question that, frankly, drives many publishers and authors to distraction.

Yes, publicity is important. But it’s also one of the most unpredictable and least controllable aspects of any marketing plan. Even well-funded, carefully crafted campaigns can be knocked sideways when news cycles shift, review editors are overwhelmed, or your topic simply isn’t in the spotlight. Meanwhile, the success of a book depends on much more than whether you can secure a handful of media mentions.

Why This Narrow Focus on Publicity Falls Short
Here’s why this question is becoming outdated:

• Publicity is just one part of the equation. A complete marketing plan also includes advertising, social media, events, partnerships, retailer engagement, special sales, and more. When distributors only ask about media coverage, they ignore the many ways books actually find their readers.
• Most books don’t get widespread traditional media coverage. Thousands of new titles are released every month in Australia alone. Only a fraction will be reviewed in major outlets. A fixation on mainstream reviews overlooks the reality of a crowded market.
• Publicity doesn’t guarantee sales. Even glowing coverage sometimes fails to translate into purchases—especially without clear calls to action, retailer support, or a strong online presence.
• Other factors often matter more. Distributors often don’t ask about the author’s network, any niche audiences, or whether the publisher has a strategy for special sales—yet these can drive much of a book’s success.

Start With a Clear, Holistic Plan

Before you even think about pitching distributors, it’s worth stepping back and thinking carefully about all the factors that drive demand.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by answering practical questions about your book, your readers, and your goals. For example:

• Who exactly is this book for? What groups, professions, or communities will care?
• Are there special sales opportunities—bulk orders, associations, conferences, or corporate gifts?
• Do you have an author platform—social media, newsletter, website—that can support discovery?
• What comparable titles have sold well, and how are you positioned against them?
• What marketing activities beyond publicity will you use to generate awareness?
• What formats are you offering, and what sales channels will you pursue?
  
  

This process isn’t just about marketing—it’s about clarity. The more you know about where your sales are likely to come from, the more realistic and effective your plan will be.

Before you start imagining bestseller lists, spend some time understanding the actual sales data for your genre. Knowing what’s realistic helps you set achievable goals and focus your energy on strategies with the highest chance of success.

Why Sales Strategy Deserves as Much Attention as Publicity
One reason this publicity question can be so frustrating is that it implies media mentions alone drive success. In reality, many books don’t primarily sell through retail bookshops or thanks to reviews.

Books are also sold:

• Direct from the author’s website  
• As incentives, gifts, or in bulk to organisations
• At conferences, events, or professional gatherings
• Through speaking engagements and workshops
• To libraries and institutional buyers (although preference for them is to buy from a distributor)
• To specialist audiences that traditional media rarely reaches

If your distributor only wants to hear about newspaper coverage but isn’t interested in how you’ll reach niche buyers or drive direct sales, they’re missing a huge part of the picture. 

It’s also worth remembering: most books—especially in Australia’s relatively small market—sell in modest quantities. Even with a fantastic marketing plan, success takes time, patience, and consistent effort.

What You Can Control (And What You Can’t)
One reason it helps to think beyond publicity is that media coverage is inherently unpredictable. No matter how strong your pitch, you can’t guarantee an editor will pick up your story.

But you can control:

• How you position your book in the market
• The quality of your metadata and online listings
• Your pricing, formats, and availability
• Your advertising and social media strategy
• The relationships you build with communities and organisations
• Your direct sales and email marketing efforts

Publicity is wonderful when it comes—but it’s just one part of the mix.

A Final Thought
Distributors asking about publicity isn’t going away anytime soon. But by broadening the conversation—and coming prepared with a well-rounded marketing and sales strategy—you’ll be in a much stronger position to show your book’s potential.

Publishing is a demanding business, and the landscape is only getting more crowded. But if you approach it with clear-eyed realism, creativity, and persistence, you’re far better placed to make your work stand out. 

​Focus on what you can influence, stay realistic about the challenges, and remember: a professional approach and a multi-layered strategy will always take you further than relying on luck and a newspaper clipping.

Mark Rosenberg is an executive coach, mediator and faciliator who empowers leaders and their teams to achieve their potential. Mark started his career as a lawyer, then worked in senior management roles in the private and public sector, before branching out as a mediator and creating Balanced Curve, based in Gladesville Sydney. The company are experts in conflict management, executive and team coaching, mediation and facilitation.

​You can read more about them at balancedcurve.com.

As a lawyer, Mark was dealing with hardcore disputes that were expensive and involved a lot of management time. As a mediator, however, he realised his strength was dealing with conflict. Over the years he has helped thousands of leaders become better at having hard conversations.

With this wealth of knowledge and firsthand experience, Mark wanted to share what he's learned with others so they have the opportunity to be better communicators and handle conflict better - afterall, it's something that many of us struggle with! He did this utilising the experience of the team at Publish Central (who also told him about RM Marketing Services!) and published a book called Mastering Hard Conversations: Turning Conflict into Collaboration. 

The key message of the book is simply: conflict in the workplace is inevitable. That means that as a leader - whether that's the CEO or senior management team, or a leader within your own team, or a thought leader within an organisation - being skilled in dealing with conflict and having uncomfortable conversations has enormous benefits. Mastering Hard Conversations provides a proven, practical, structured approach to help you become a better leader by improving your communication and conflict skills.

Mark came to us to talk about marketing and publicity support - as well as support and advice while he navigated the world of publishing and bookselling. Like many independently published authors, navigating the metadata minefield was the first challenge - ensuring that accurate, enhanced information on the book was sent out in data feeds to online booksellers was tricky for someone who hasn't experienced it before. For many indie authors, online booksellers are THE main sales channel due to the nature of publishing and distributing a book using the Ingram Spark platform (print to order and ebook distribution) so getting this information right was a priority.

We then discussed ways of disseminating information about the book to core booksellers and library suppliers. We also mapped out plans for content and social media posts, particularly using LinkedIn for engagement where Mark had a loyal, supportive following. We also worked with some online sites and Mark spoke to his peers who have podcasts about teams and teamwork. Our good friends at Books+Publishing included him on their #booksareessential campaign which has 10,000 followers on Instagram. We liaised with reviewers and we provided promotional and marketing support as the weeks progressed.

As icing on the cake, Mark was able to turn a profile about his house into an article about the house, his dogs Peggy Sue and Honey, and his book! The article is below however the online article had a different heading - Lockdown at home proved perfect for Mark Rosenberg to write about conflict management - which was pretty perfect! You can read it here on The Australian website.

Since we've been working with Mark on his book, we've seen Mastering Hard Conversations in and out of the Top 50 books in mediation and conflict resolution on Amazon, and even in the Top 3! It's a book that resonates with readers because it's practical, well-written and helps them develop their knowledge and skills in conflict resolution and communication within teams.

You won't be surprised to hear, we're big fans of the book, particularly Chapter 8 - Dealing with Certifiable Assholes! 
​
​Listen to Mark speak about that chapter here. 

We recently contributed this article to the Independent Publishing newsletter from our good friends at Books+Publishing. If you haven't subscribed to their newsletters, we highly recommend you do so now.

All the social media and marketing advice says if you are engaging with an audience—with consumers, with booksellers, with librarians and teachers—you’re going to need a social media strategy.

Social media is about starting a discussion—about you, your product, your services. ‘Discussions’ do not increase sales—they create awareness. Your job is to enhance this awareness so you can develop a brand, build reader loyalty and have a sales strategy that makes it easy for someone to buy your book. That may be through bricks and mortar bookshops, online booksellers, special accounts or directly from your website. It should not be used solely as a sales strategy but linked to your overall sales and marketing plan for your books.

Lesson one: start early

One thing to keep in mind is that author and product awareness doesn’t happen overnight! You need to be thinking about your digital and social media strategy a long time before your book is published. As an industry consultant, there’s nothing more frustrating than getting a phone call or an email because someone has ‘written a book’ and they tell me the book has just come back from the printers, can I help with a website, promotions, publicity, getting them on the socials? They have published a book and no one can find them! They have no brand, no online presence, no followers, no readers, no SEO search results—zero digital footprint as an author. They are starting too late to build their author brand in a way that will maximise promotional and publicity opportunities.

Don’t leave it to the last minute to develop a digital and social media action plan.

Lesson two: define your goals

So what is social media marketing? It is essentially a way of creating content in multiple formats then distributing that on an online platform designed to drive engagement, encourage discussion and share information for consumers. It builds virtual networks and communities. It’s a conversation. And if you’re an author, it will provide direct access to your readers and vice versa.

Another thing to keep in mind is where social media is taking place. Statistics shows the number of smartphone users in the world is forecast to be 7.9 billion this year and of those 3.96 billion are on social media. (Which reminds me: you need to be thinking mobile for your website as well. Is it mobile–friendly? There are plenty of online services now that can help you with your website and have it integrate with social media. Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Shopify and others can connect the dots for you. Websites aren’t expensive these days and you can contact industry professionals to help you get started.)

While I think everyone needs to have a social media strategy, that doesn’t necessarily means that everyone will have one. As authors and publishers one of the best things you can do is define what your social media strategy looks like. What are your goals? What are the platforms that are right for you? How will you communicate in those channels? Discover the voice that works best in those you want to engage with—then work out the best way to create and schedule content across those platforms. Do you have a content plan going forward? How will you keep the engagement going?

The best way to think about social media is to write down your goals. What do you want social media to do for you? Do you want to:

• Attract new authors or collaborations
• Drive more traffic to your website (this leads me to even more questions: what sort of website strategy do you have? Do you also have a blog there? A Look Inside the Books? Unique content? Reading group discussion points? Sign up for newsletter? Special offer on pre-order?)
• Engage with the book trade
• Get more followers
• Increase audience engagement
• Increase awareness of products
• Increase email subscribers
• Increase mentions
• Market events and appearances
• Develop paid partnerships
• Produce engaging content
• Promote your authors
• Promote your brand and specialty
• Reach new readers
• Sell an additional service
• Track content and reviews of products.

If you don’t think you have enough content for social media to encourage engagement, then it’s not for you.

Lesson three: know your audience

I read somewhere that unless you can answer the question ‘who is your audience’ then you’re wasting your time on social media! But now I’m going to hit you with the big question: who is your audience? This is really important for advertising on social media as you’ll need to identify your core audience, market to a custom build audience or a consider look-alike audience.

So, who are your readers? What do they read? What podcasts do they listen to? What magazines do they read? What television do they watch? What sex are they? What age group? Where do they live? What keeps them up at night?  What type of content are they craving? Do they stream content? Listen to ABC radio? How do they entertain themselves?

Over time social media analytics will build a nice but general profile of your readers so you will be able to discover who they are and continue to build discussions around them. Knowing your audience will help with your digital marketing strategy including email marketing and website.

If you can’t define your audience or some buyer personas, why did you write your book?