Book Marketing Journey

Written By Chelsea Carney
Social media apps on an iPhone

Followers, social media accounts, creative content…. As one of my recent TikToks would say (@chelseamcarney), “BUT I’M THE TALENT. I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT.” But, as writers, don’t we?

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Chelsea Carney. I’m a published writer, with an agent, currently trying to get my first book published. I’m also getting my MFA in Creative Writing and recently started to wonder how brand marketing might be helpful as an avenue to publishing. My day job is tech, primarily Marketing & Sales, so it’s been an interesting practice because it blends both my creative writing and tech backgrounds, which I think has given me a bit of an edge. I have an understanding of SEO and key words, that creating engaging content with CTAs is important, and while I’m not sure if it will be meaningful or not to my journey, I’m curious. And it can’t hurt, right?

So if you’re interested in this ride, please subscribe and follow along! If anything, it’s an exercise in learning, which I’m ALL ABOUT.

So….Here’s my goal and what you should expect to see from me, broken down as objectives and key results (a total tech thing. OKRs. Useful framework.)

Goal: PUBLISH MY FIRST BOOK.

(Currently I’m working with my agent on the traditional publishing route. If you’re interested in self-publishing, I’m sure this is still useful, but I’m not as versed in that world)

Objectives:

  1. Build an authentic fan base—people I can connect to, on and offline—where my writing resonates.

  2. Create an Instagram and TikTok account related to my brand as a writer

  3. Post a writing blog 1X-3Xs per week. This blog should consist of follow ups on both my writing and marketing journey, as well as posts on who I am, what I like, and what you can expect from me as a brand.

  4. Post 1-5 creative pieces of content per social media account, per day

Measurements:

  1. Average of 1500 followers per week (this can be spread between both social media accounts), with the goal of 10K followers for each account by the end of April, 2023.

  2. Start an email list for my book. I’m not sure what a good email list looks like, but after some research, I think at least 1K subscribers would be ideal. My goal for this will be end of August.

  3. An offer for publication — this depends on a number of factors, so fingers crossed! Currently I’m working on agent edits, and once that’s complete, we’ll be going on sub. From sub, maybe a year? I’m honestly not sure since I’ve never done this before but I’m excited!!

Okay….let’s see how fruitful this hypothesis is. I know it seems a little sterile for a creative, but if I love anything, it’s learning. So let’s learn together! Please post any ideas or other things you hope to see in the comments.

Keep writing!

Chelsea Carney