Book Review: Get Your Book Seen and Sold

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A clear and direct answer to the unpublished writer’s first question: “Where do I go from here?”

You can’t get your book seen and sold if you don’t get it out there first. And there are so many ways to get it wrong.

This book by publishing & marketing professionals Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette guides writers through the process of choosing the correct publishing path and navigating it with strategy and effect. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of internet advice on how to publish and market a book, but with Wolk and Murkette by your side, you can know exactly where you’re headed—and even get further than you thought you could.

In addition to discussing both traditional book deals and the logistics of self-publishing, this co-writing team explains a number of important truths of book marketing with honesty. Among the most impactful of their advice is rooted in choosing the exact right audience for your book: Your Ideal Reader. Don’t cast too wide a net; don’t think anybody who reads is your audience. Instead, tell me what your book buyers do in their free time—where they shop, what hobbies they spend their time doing, what newsletters they subscribe to, and beyond. It’s this specificity that Wolk and Murkette help you define with worksheets and actionable tasks.

In addition to putting all of the confusing parts of publishing and marketing in layman’s terms, they also fill these pages with useful flowcharts, graphics, exercises, and easy to reference information. You’ll not only gain a better understanding of what you’re up against, but you’ll also get friendly mentors in your ear telling you which marketing paths actually work.

The book shares plenty of practical tips on structuring your media kit, finding which platforms to pitch for review, and timelines on when to get started. It even includes some of the platforms to pitch so you’ve got a shortcut in the research department.

Some of the advice on traditional publishing focuses primarily on major publishers, book deals, and advances, so the small press author may feel separated from some of this content. This is more of an introductory work on book marketing than it is a deep dive on marketing strategy, so first-time authors would likely be the best target audience for this book. 

Get Your Book Seen and Sold is clean and effective and does just what it sets out to do. I’d be surprised to hear any first time author finding this book and not leaving it more informed and more ready to navigate the big, intimidating world of book publishing than when they started.

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