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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44731
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44731
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

## It's complicated.

An indie writer who mostly does their own marketing winds up taking on _two_ jobs -- writing new books, and marketing them.

Although these can feel related, they're very, _very_ different. For one you're writing _fiction_, working a bunch on a single story. For another, you're interacting on social media, writing blog posts, figuring out art and design and how Facebook advertising works, and a hundred other tasks that _aren't_ the act of **writing your book**.

**_If_ you want to take _both_ jobs on, and think you can do well at _both_, this approach can be extremely effective.**  
But if you don't devote enough effort to marketing, then, well, you won't have any. So: **make sure you understand how much work you're getting into here.**

The thing that has me concerned here is that your example of marketing is:

> A free sample that proves this unknown is not untalented would make that leap from thinking of getting it to buying it easier.

This is an example of fairly _simplistic_ marketing, that doesn't usually work well on its own. Consider: _what audience_ do you expect will seek out and read your free sample? How will you find _them_? Most readers don't go out looking for random snippets of unpublished books -- they have plenty of _complete_ books they could be reading instead!

Rather, free fiction or samples (and, really, any marketing at all) is something you should try to do _in the context_ of a larger business plan to draw and maintain interest. You should understand _where you're trying to draw readers from_, and _how you're going to do it._. For example:

- Listing some really inexpensive books on Amazon could draw in Amazon browsers looking for bargains!
- A regular blog with, e.g., publishing advice _and_ fiction samples might draw in some audience looking for the publishing advice, who'll get curious about the fiction, and go on to buy actual books!
- Being super active on Twitter, maybe with a strong focus on a particular passion of yours, can get you new friends and followers who'll be excited when your book comes out!

All of these involve different steps -- and are suited to different types of authors, and even different types of books. If you're someone who will _enjoy_ spending a lot of time on social media, that's one approach; if you're publishing indie in a genre with very inexpensive books, then capturing bargain-hunters is a _different_ good approach.

**Here's what's advisable:** Not the yes/no question of _when_ to market, but the more complex question of "How do I want my career kickoff to look." You have _many_ options, but they all tie down to your specific case, and what specific work you want to do.

Come up with a marketing plan. Come up with _five_ marketing plans, so you've got lots of choices. See what makes sense to you -- what looks feasible; what you have time and energy for; what feels to you like it'll actually work. Then, start choosing from among them.

There are a million paths to success -- but you need to figure out which one of them you're going to invest your energy in. The book can you you awesome suggestions you wouldn't have thought of on you're own -- but, don't do something just because a book told you to. This is your career, you're going to need to manage it, and you can only do that if you _understand the book's rationale._ Figure out your path; see what your choices are -- and understand where you expect the readers (and the money!) to be coming from.

Original score: 2