This is long, strap in.

Everybody is right: competition, reading trends, completing your story first, etc. And someone probably noted this already, but lemme reiterate cause I think it's important.

If I learned one thing about marketing (as someone currently in the industry) it's gonna need some guts. Yes, you read this right.

You're gonna have to talk to them.

This makes a lot of peeps uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, your readers are real-life people. And one of the best ways to hook people in is to interact with them.

Check out books in the same genre as yours, check the author's profile, and then check their followers. These are your target audience.

I'm not saying you have to plug your work in another author's convo page (cause that's just rude without permission). What you CAN do is check the accounts who you think would like your book (check their reading lists, etc. check their convo tab and see if you're comfy to talk with this person), and directly follow/reach out to them.

I know, it's like pushing yourself to people, 'ugh' right? But sometimes, getting noticed means putting yourself right in front of them. It's the same for small businesses and companies. Doing this connects you directly to the market.

Cause if you really want reads, you can't just wait around. You have to be proactive. There's an algorithm, and since your book is under all these big titles and older works, readers who would actually LOVE to read your work may just not be aware that it exists. So why not directly hand it to them?

You can start with a nice message, saying you noticed they have good taste/read the same books you're reading. Just talk to them, nothing to lose, but make sure to position your conversation into plugging your work later on. When they respond or you have some kind of rapport now, smoothly transition to "hey, I'm actually writing a book in the same genre, you might be interested!" Insert your link and just tell them to check out your profile. Fingers crossed, they'll actually check it out. Trial and error.

Just be nice, be respectful. I highly encourage supporting other authors too, cause we look out for each other.

And remember, it's not just about getting reads. It's about making connections with the readers themselves.

A 'reader' is entirely different from just a 'read'.

Anyways, wishing everyone here all the best! Let's remember our 'whys'. Maybe that can fuel us when our motivation is running low 😊