Today is known as Super Thursday in the publishing world. This is the day when a huge number of books are released by publishers to bookstores in time for the Christmas market. Despite the steady drip feed of books being published throughout the year, today is simply a marketing peg, a gimmick – a chance to generate publicity and create a buzz around the new books, many of which are celebrity autobiographies as well as the usual cookbooks and some big name fictional authors such as William Boyd and Robert Harris.

For self published and indie authors who don’t have the marketing resources to achieve anything like as big a splash, it can be frustrating. But even without big budgets, the same principles can be applied. Ultimately the aim is to get people talking about your book and interested in your book.

Think about what you could do in your local area to create an event – possibly a fairly low-key book launch, connecting with the local library or community groups, or offering to attend one or two reading groups. And many local bookshops support their local authors, so pop in and see if they can help with promoting your book.

Could you offer some kind of competition? How could you involve your readers? How do you connect with your readers?

And these days, with so many social media platforms available, many authors are taking the marketing into their own hands anyway. So, you’re joining the professionals if you’re online talking about your book and your writing…