More thoughts on book promotion
On events, publicity, and word-of-mouth
Hello, hello!
I’m so glad to see so many new names and faces. Welcome! My last post on things I wish debut novelists knew got a lot of love (thank you!) and then of course I was mentioned in Leigh Stein’s interview of
about how to organize an influencer event on Attention Economy.I was writing a post about the topic that’s been consuming me for the last few months, but I figured I’d pivot to sharing a few more thoughts on events and publicity, in case that’s why you’re here!
Word-of-mouth has to start somewhere
My subscriber count has tripled in the last few days, so I really must start with this:
Hi! I’m Anne-Sophie but everybody calls me Anso. I’m French but you really don’t need to worry about that1. I previously published two YA romcoms with Penguin Random House, then switched to writing thrillers for adults. The French Honeymoon is a psychocological thriller about a Paris honeymoon gone horribly wrong. I won’t mind if you click away from this post to get yourself a copy. Seriously, I’ll wait.
That’s promotion 101. If you suddenly find yourself in front of a new and/or captive audience, no matter the size, not mentioning your work is a huge missed opportunity.
Two little opportunities I seized lately:
Warning: these ideas are pretty basic. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but that’s what I’m getting at. We can waste so much time chasing media hits (like, say, pitching essays to outlets) when they are so many little opportunities up for grabs everywhere.
I planned what was supposed to be a picnic in the park for my two-year-old’s birthday and invited all his buddies from daycare (in addition to our long-time friends). The weather looked pretty bad so we switched to having it at our apartment at the last minute. I know some of the daycare parents in passing, and I’d never met maybe a third of the people who came (though I do know the kids!). You know what was part of the birthday decorations? My foamboard poster of The French Honeymoon. By the end of the party, two parents had excitedly asked about my book and said they were going to buy it.
This was from my influencer event at Ladurée. I did not go so overboard at home. In the same vein, my husband works in a busy office full of my target audience. A few of his colleagues bought my YA novels in the past. This time, I gave my husband a copy of The French Honeymoon to leave on his desk, so people see the cover every time they come in, and flick through it if they’d like. I also gave him a stack of postcards Sourcebooks made for influencer mailings, to give to any interested party.
I’ve talked about all the things we control and, well, here’s another one. Some authors have a huge alumni network, or parents who will buy a dozen copies and spread the word to family and friends. The rest of us can focus on finding ways to get the ball rolling at a micro level. They’re out there and putting your book/cover where warm leads can see it is always a good idea.
Events are the gift that keeps on giving
I’ve already shared how I organized the pre-publication buzz event for The French Honeymoon, and I’m guessing some of you are now thinking about doing something similar. I want to acknowledge that there were factors that made it easier for me. I live in NYC so we had lots of people to invite. And the topic of my book helped! Ladurée, who hosted my event, is featured in The French Honeymoon.
This exact type of event won’t work for everyone, but one of my main takeaways, two months post-publication date, is that any event to celebrate your book is a great idea. There’s your book launch, of course, but I’m also envisioning a prelaunch party with friends to generate excitement, or maybe a fun event with authors only. I’m also already brainstorming how I can improve on my influencer event for my next thriller, which is out next spring. Here’s why:
Events aren’t just about who will be there.
The exposure starts well before they happen. When Ladurée agreed to host my event, I started emailing with their PR agency and the internal team on a regular basis. These are people who know a lot of people, and now they knew about my book, a book that featured Ladurée and promotes Paris and French culture, which is right up their alley.
Then, we sent out invitations. We got unlucky with the timing; the date of my event was the same week as a bookish retreat organized by a big influencer. Many people responded that they were bummed to miss the party. I was disappointed too, but I reminded myself that not only did they know about my book now, they’d learned about it in a fun, unsual way, so they were more likely to remember it and check it out.
Events are great for communication 101
Because, if you’re like many authors, you feel queasy about asking people to buy, read, or promote your book. Add it to your Goodreads! Request it from your library! Tell your friends! Share my post on Stories! I do it but I don’t like it and, honestly, it’s near-impossible to get anyone to do anything. The odds are never in our favor.
You know what does feel great? It’s sending an invitation for a party and telling people you want to celebrate your upcoming release with them. That’s a fabulous reason to get in touch and slip your book cover and synopsis into their inboxes. The drinks are free and the eyeballs are priceless.
Events are content gold for other people
It’s not just influencers. All of us who are on social media are looking for content to share. It’s fun to show off the party you’re attending in an aesthetically pleasing location. You’re giving people the opportunity to say “Look how special I am that I get invited to fancy events!” but in a much more palatable way: “Fun times celebrating Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau’s new thriller, The French Honeymoon!” It’s a win-win situation. It makes people feel better about their self-promotion while they promote your book.
I can’t stress this enough, but it really doesn’t matter if your guests are full-fledged influencers. In fact, you might be better off with a much more curated audience, for whom an event like this will feel unique and not the third thing they’re going to that evening.
They’re also content gold for you (duh!)
Pics or it didn’t happen, it’s not just a cliched phrase. You must have photography (and ideally also video) from the event. My photographer friend was going to do it for me, but when she could no longer make it, I found a photographer on Upwork (I think?) who captured the event for $250 (which is tax-deductible!). You don’t need a professionnal, but you need a dedicated person who will come through with the goods. There’s little point in having the event if you don’t have visuals to help you publicize said event.
I posted about my event on Instagram, on LinkedIn, on Substack, and, as evidenced by this post, I’m getting a lot of content out of it, even four months later. I’ve also discussed it offline with many people, which is just as beneficial (not every good thing is visible on social media!).
Great things happen when great things happen
There have been a few unexpected surprises to come out of this event, which made me feel like it really was worth the effort to organize it.
The team at the PR agency for Ladurée has been so supportive and posted about my book (and the event, but also just my book) multiple times on several social media platforms, including on this Substack,
, where they have 5K subscribers. Such a generous gesture!
I was very nervous during my speech and feared I embarrassed myself a little (which I definitely did, but whatever). Afterward, the founder of the PR agency, Céline Kaplan, told me how much she liked what I said. She even emailed me the next day to say she was still thinking about my speech. This is a woman who built a successful business and works closely with many luxury brands. Her support warmed my heart. It’s a connection I didn’t expect to make, and who knows what might come out of it down the road
I blocked off my speech from memory and it’s probably for the best.
My own inbox has been filling with invites to cool bookish events, a great sign that what comes around goes around.
Several authors who are much more successful than me were inspired by my event and have asked me about it, including of course,
. I love her novels and learn so much from how freaking great she is at marketing and publicity. The fact that she was inspired by something I did and that I was able to help her feels pretty damn good! Plus I got a shoutout not only her Substack but also Leigh Stein’s. That’s extra publicity I never saw coming.
There’s much to be learned from other industries
I feel like this is one of publishing’s big flaws: it thinks it’s all different from everyone else. And yet there’s so much we can apply from the corporate world.
One example: I’ve used LinkedIn for years for my other career2 and I make sure I post about my books there as well. I have a decent network, so that helps. Writing is my full-time job, and right now writing novels is my main source of income. Being a novelist is my job and I treat as such, which is why LinkedIn is such an obvious platform for book promotion, in my opinion. Many of my friends and acquaintances in the corporate world aren’t on Instagram or other platforms, so that’s a great place to reach them.
Maybe LinkedIn isn’t right for you, but what other platforms or spaces could be? What could you do if you started thinking outside the box? Is it a brand collaboration? Displaying books at a restaurant the way painters do? Organizing a network event for authors?
We invited a number of lifestyle, beauty, fashion influencers to my prelaunch event, and some of the big names mentioned how fun it was for them to be invited to a bookish event. Most never had before! They’re drowning in goodie bags from beauty brands, but you know what they rarely (if ever) get? A book! Well, I’m glad we corrected that ;-)
One last thing: on timing
Publishers typically stop promoting a book on its publication day.3 There’s only so much time the PR and Marketing teams can dedicate to each book and that’s an obvious stopping point for them.
But not for you! The French Honeymoon came out in April, and I recently booked two (maybe three, fingers crossed!) events for the fall. And with the paperback coming in January 2026, you can bet I’m not done promoting this book and making sure it gets love for as long as I can make it happen!
Thanks for reading! In a future post, I want to talk about networking with authors and bookish people, and what a great promotion tool that is. Until next time, happy writing!
You also really don’t need to ask me how it’s possible that I write and get published in my second language. What, like you only write novels in one language?
My first career was in advertising and I’ve worked as a copywriter and content strategist on and off for many years, in between book contracts.
Unless the book takes off and there are media requests and such, obviously.
Really appreciated this. 🙂 One thing that stood out (and that I don’t see talked about much) is how events can be more than just a launch-day moment. You made a great point about them being a way to connect with people and share your book without the pressure of a hard sell. A low-key approach that still has real impact. Thanks for sharing this!
SO INSPIRED once again!!