The order of the work

First, be findable: one home page or author page that never moves, with the book, the buy links and a way to reach you.

Second, be sayable: a hook, stakes and a promise you can deliver in one breath. If you cannot say it, no reader can repeat it.

Third, be travelable: short video and audio that carry the book into feeds you are not personally standing in.

Only then, paid advertising — and only against a page that already converts.

What most authors waste effort on

Being on every platform. Two done well beats six done thinly.

Announcing rather than showing. A cover reveal is one post; a scene performed aloud is content that keeps working.

Chasing rankings. Rank is a by-product of readers, not a substitute for them.

What travels furthest, cheapest

Video and audio. A page of prose cannot be shared into a feed; thirty seconds of your book performed can. This is the whole argument for film books and audio editions.

Every instrument you need to cut those is free in the Workshop — the Trailer Cutter, the Audiogram Forge, the Cover Motion test and the Blurb Anvil.

An honest word on what marketing buys

Effort and reach. Nobody can sell you sales, rankings or reviews, and anyone who does is selling you something else. This house sells the work of putting your book in front of people, and says so plainly.

The order of the work

1. 01Fix your homeOne permanent author page with the book, buy links and a contact door.
2. 02Sharpen the lineHammer your blurb into hook, stakes and promise until you can say it aloud in one breath.
3. 03Cut one assetMake a single 30-second trailer or audiogram from your strongest scene.
4. 04Post it three waysSame asset, three cuts, three platforms, across a fortnight — not once.
5. 05Open a door backEvery post ends somewhere you own: your page, your list, your next book.

Asked and answered

How much should I spend marketing my book?

Nothing, until the free work is done. An advertisement pointed at a page that does not convert simply buys you a faster loss.

When should I start?

Ninety days before release if you can, but the second-best time is today — a backlist title responds to the same work.