You’re great at staying super focused when writing, building fictional worlds, and bringing characters to life. Marketing your book? Not so much. As an introverted author, that’s probably the last thing you want to do.

We have good news for you, though: you can market your book without pretending to be someone you’re not. You just have to decide how to show up and build confidence over time. Homebodies, wallflowers, hermits, introverts — this book marketing guide is for you.

Start by showing up (on your own terms)

First, think about how you want to market your book. Or how you don’t want to market it. As an introvert, pinpoint what makes you uncomfortable or what drains your energy when it comes to book marketing.

Maybe interacting with and talking to other people is tiring. Maybe it’s the effort you put into creating content, like choosing outfits or doing your hair and makeup. It could be literally talking about your book in videos or podcast interviews that’s exhausting. Once you pinpoint what you like and don’t like, you can find marketing strategies that suit your personality.

Write all this down, and try not to feel guilty about how you feel! Remember, you’re crafting a book marketing plan that works for you. You might have to get out of your comfort zone a little and try new things, but you don’t have to turn into an extrovert.

If you only want to write, try Substack or Threads.

Don’t want to create graphics, film videos, or edit images? Prefer to communicate through words? (Duh, you’re a writer.) Try Threads, Instagram’s version of X that businesses and brands have latched on to.

We’ve noticed a lot of writers using Substack, too. It’s a subscription network that lets you publish text through email or in their app. It’s a great tool for building a fanbase and engaging with them through content.

If you like talking to people in person, find local events.

Maybe you’re an extroverted introvert, or the odd introvert who feels energized after socializing. Get out there and talk to people face-to-face! 

Look for local book festivals or conventions. Pop culture and comic conventions often have author alleys for certain genres, too. Host signings, meet-and-greets, readings, or Q&As at your local library or favorite local bookstores. Join book clubs that are reading your book and talk to their members. 

If you enjoy pictures, graphics, and Reels, try Instagram or TikTok.

The great thing about Instagram and TikTok is that you can start at a level you feel comfortable with and create content that you like to create. You can always branch out and try other content formats or make content more frequently when you gain confidence.

Instagram posts, graphics, and carousels are a good place to start if you like taking pictures or creating graphics. You can even create carousels on TikTok now, which means you can repurpose your content and save time! We’re big fans of that.

If you like making videos, try Instagram Stories, Reels, and TikToks. Share behind-the-scenes content. Share non-book content to remind people that you’re a human. Tease parts of your book. Talk to your audience. Be creative with your videos. Have fun with it.

If you like talking to people online, get on podcasts.

Enjoy talking to people but not face-to-face? Thank goodness for the internet, and podcasts in particular. You might book an interview on an established podcast, or start your own if you’re so inclined. Good ol’ fashioned radio interviews are still a thing, too.

We have a more in-depth guide to social media marketing that covers all these marketing platforms and strategies, if you want more advice!

Take it slow and steady

There are a lot of marketing experts and self-made authors who tell people that you have to do all the things, all the time to be a successful author. Share content every day while churning out emails and traveling for a 12-city book tour. Oof. Talk about exhausting.

You do need to create content and share it online to keep up as an author in this day and age. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and again, you don’t have to do it all. Try this tiered approach to get going:

• Publish one core content piece a week. This can be one Reel, one email, one blog…you get the idea.
• Create 2 to 3 repurposed pieces from that core content. Turn that Reel idea into a couple of social media posts, write a blog on a topic similar to that email, and so on. You can squeeze a lot of content from one idea.

Follow this formula, and you’ll come up with more ideas and more repurposed content pieces to use in the future. Repurpose as much as you want, but always have one core content piece a week so that everything you create is consistent and on theme.

Stick to it, and build confidence

Nobody on the Uncanny Unedited team is ready to hop on a stage tomorrow and talk about the business, even though our team is about half introverts and half extroverts/ambiverts. No thank you. That’s not the goal here.

Just because you created something and want to sell it does not mean you want to become famous overnight. People on the internet forget this, unfortunately. Being online and promoting your stuff doesn’t mean you’re basking in the limelight. You’re putting yourself out there, and that’s enough!

It’s easy to psych yourself out, thinking you don’t have what it takes to market your book. You do. Show up online on your terms, with the content you want to create, and how frequently you want to engage. That’s how you build confidence and work up to other marketing methods, like book signings or conventions (if you want to do those).

Plus, marketing online is a low stakes way to build an audience. Don’t like the posts you create or not happy with the results of your blog? Try a different posting schedule or format for that content. Uncomfortable with the way your Reel turned out? Delete it and try again another time. You’re in control of how you show up.

You can market your book without changing who you are

Even as an introvert, you still need to connect with people to sell your book. 

But the key words here are “connect with people.” Not “draw attention to yourself” or “push your book like a used car salesman” or “jump through hoops” or “become an extrovert.” Think about your book marketing efforts as methods of connecting with your fans and readers. That’s less intimidating and anxiety-inducing…and a huge relief for us introverts.

And if you want expert help marketing your book from a team of like-minded introverts, give us a shout! Our book marketing services are tiered so that you can choose how much time and energy you want to devote to your new book launch. 

We recommend the One Bed Inn, our one-quarter strategy intensive, for a full content plan with prompts and outlines:

When you book us for a One Bed Inn, you get:

• A 2-hour deep-dive call where we get to know you, your book, your author brand, your goals, and how you want to approach your book marketing
• 3 months of content prompts and outlines for your socials, blog, newsletters, etc.
• Prompts and outlines for an upcoming book launch if needed, like a book product page outline 
• A check-in two weeks after you receive your strategy, because we’re not about to leave you in the lurch (and we want to know how you’re doing!)

In short, we’ll craft a marketing strategy tailored to your personality, capacity, and introvertedness. (Introversion? Introvert levels?) With a One Bed Inn strategy in your pocket, you can focus on doing what you love to do and leave the rest to us. Book your One Bed Inn today!