A few weeks ago, I came across an article about book marketing strategies in 2026 on Best Thrillers website. Marketing is a challenge for almost every author I know and to make matters worse, tactics that were effective a few years ago no longer work. (Although the article and survey behind it target thrillers, I think the messages are much the same for historical fiction.)
Some highlights:
- Paid advertising is now the mainstream driver of book discovery regardless of genre. Places like BookBub, Facebook, Amazon and others are cited in the survey as significant vehicles. Affordability is a significant issue. For That Was Then, I used paid advertising (both FB and Amazon). Sales only barely covered the money spent.
- Reviews are key! The more reviews, the more readers will pay attention in terms of where to spend their dollars. Those reviews have to be positive ones, of course.
- E-Books and paperback remain the most popular formats for readers.
- Book-Tok is where the action is. Many authors and publishers have yet to embrace Book-Tok. Perhaps this is an opportunity!
- Goodreads is declining in its impact.
- Book marketing is increasingly fragmented. More marketing tools and more social media channels make the task more difficult!
- Authors have more and more responsibility for marketing whether you’re a New York Times bestselling author or mid-list author or an indie author. Of course, indie authors have always had this responsibility.
My take …
- marketing is increasingly challenging
- it takes a lot of time
- the venues and techniques are changing
- and the cost keeps going up
You can read more details on the link I’ve included.
I’m going to look around a bit more to see what others are saying. In the meantime, if you have comments on book marketing as either a reader or an author, please drop them in the comments.
FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY. There’s a SUBSCRIBE function on the right hand side of the page.
M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
