Book marketing otherwise known as screaming into the void—and why I’m doing it anyway
If you’ve ever typed “how to promote your book online” into Google in the wee sma’ hours of the morning, you’ll have encountered the same advice on repeat: Use Pinterest. It’s visual! It’s evergreen! It drives traffic for years! So every week, I open Pinterest and whisper to myself: This is the week. This is the week the pins go viral. The algorithm will finally sit up and take note.
Reader: it is never the week.
Pinterest Fatigue Is Real (And So Is Canva Burnout)
The reality of book marketing on Pinterest is… grim. I have boards full of bookish quotes, wistful romance aesthetics and pastel-toned pins pointing to my novels. They gather impressions like ghosts gather dust. I’m exhausted. Canva and I are in a toxic relationship.
And yet—I persist. Why? Because writing Forever, Maybe took me endless revisions. Endless, I tells ye! It’s my Glasgow-set, time-hopping (NOT time-travel!) romantic drama about love, family, and figuring out who you are (even if you’re in your forties and still wondering). It’s funny, it’s emotional and it’s the most chick-litty thing I’ve ever written.
That’s why I’ve pushed its release to mid-September—to give it more of a chance in this noisy, soulless algorithm-driven world. And in the meantime, life continues. Sort of.
Website News: A Fresh Look (Minus the Extortionate E-Commerce)
You might’ve noticed things look a bit different around here. That’s because I recently gave my website a makeover—or more accurately, a make-under. After paying through the nose for two years for the privilege of having a WordPress online shop that sold… wait for it, wait for it no books whatsoever, I’ve cancelled the expensive subscription and stripped things back.
No bells. No whistles. Just an author, her books and a lot of, lot of links.
I’ve spent ages reordering content, cleaning things up and (hopefully) making it easier for you to find what you’re looking for—whether that’s Forever, Maybe, a laugh, or just a way to procrastinate for five minutes. I genuinely prefer the new layout, and it actually feels like my site now. So, silver linings…
Personal Life: Bagpipes, Beach Views and… Carpal Tunnel?
Last weekend, Glasgow hosted the World Pipe Band Championships. I didn’t go (crowds! ticket prices!), but I did get a free preview thanks to some of the bands practising in Kelvingrove Park. The sound of the drums echoing through the trees never fails to give me the chills. Scotland, eh?
I also escaped to Prestwick to visit a friend whose garden backs onto the beach. Imagine sipping Prosecco tea while looking out to sea, the scent of salt in the air, a contented dog on the chair next to you and not a Canva template in sight. Bliss.
Back home, the cats have gone weird. The heatwave of the past week rendered all their usual snoozing spots intolerable, so they took to sleeping in very questionable places. On windowsills. In cardboard boxes. Under my standing desk.
Oh—and to add to the fun—there’s the creeping suspicion of carpal tunnel syndrome. Tingling hands. Numb fingers. Waking up at 3am feeling like I’ve been arm-wrestling ghosts. It’s more common in people with type 1 diabetes (like me), but hammering at a keyboard daily doesn’t help. Still, I’ll soldier on. Slowly. With many wrist stretches and clicking thumbs.
TL;DR? I’m Still Here. Still Pinning. Still Writing.
So yes, Pinterest is currently soul-draining one ignored pin at a time. But I’ve got bagpipes, beach sunsets, ridiculous cats and a new-and-improved website. And I’ve got a book that I’m quite proud of (not that proud; the Scot in me refuses to allow too much self-congratulation.
Forever, Maybe is out mid-September and available for pre-order now. If you’d like to support a tired author with early-onset Canva-induced burnout, this is the link to do just that.
Or, if you’re local, just nod in solidarity next time you hear the pipes. Either works.
Emma Baird is an award-winning writer, specialising in romcoms and fiction that focuses on relationships, and a type 1 diabetic. She is also the co-author of The Diabetes Diet, co-written with a doctor. Most importantly, she is the guardian of one very spoiled cat…
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Enjoying getting to know more about you, Emma, your life and career. I may be looking at self-publishing in the near future myself
Hi Mitch – do it for the love, not the money! In all seriousness, though, what I love about self-publishing is the learning it involves. From plotting and writing a book in the first place, to teaching yourself book formatting and marketing, creating graphics, commissioning others to help make your book look as professional as possible, figuring out how advertising works (or not, I never have!) and everything else, it’s great fun.
Hi. I hope your promotional efforts take strong root, so that the new book sells loads of copies. You deserve that to happen!
Thanks, Neil!