Getting noticed as a self-published author is hard. It’s even harder if you’re foolish enough to publish in English when you don’t live in an English-speaking country. I live in Belgium, and although we pride ourselves on being a multi-lingual people, the Belgian readers who actually buy English novels in the original language represent a small minority. Bookshops aren’t keen to carry the title both because of the language issue and the fact it’s published via Amazon — even Belgian bookshops see Amazon as a threat. And if they’d want to carry the title, Covid-19 saw/sees to it that signing sessions are out of the question. So breaking out beyond the close circle of family and friends is a slog.

Even getting your book reviewed by a respected magazine like Kirkus Reviews isn’t a guarantee readers will pick up your book. Bloggers specialised in fantasy book reviews act as influencers for their followers, but they are in high demand and have only so much time.

So I’m still in the process of figuring out what works and what doesn’t in promoting a book. Maybe I should create a Facebook page to generate more traffic to my website? Should I focus my advertising on Amazon? What kind of budget would that require? Should I do more on Goodreads? Thinking about it.

I’m now running an advertising campaign on Kirkus Reviews that will last until the end of the year. In September, I was fortunate enough to have my advertisement in their magazine placed right beneath their review of Elena Ferrante’s latest blockbuster title. I’m sure it must have attracted a lot of eyeballs, but it didn’t translate into sales or contacts yet. The Kirkus Magazine is aimed at professionals: agents, publishers, libraries. There will also be banners for Dream Whisperer on their website and newsletter which both are directed at the general reading public. In October, they’ll publish an author’s profile about me that will remain on their website ‘forever’. Looking forward to the results – if any.

On 7 September, I was ‘Writer of the Day’ on Reddit’s r/Fantasy community. They claim to be the largest discussion forum on the internet for the speculative fiction genre with over a million members. It allowed me to present my novel to this well-targeted reader group and to interact with members who asked questions. It was a fun experience that lasted for 14 (!) hours. The r/Fantasy community is a well-behaved forum. The questions are kind and respectful, and the general reception was positive — at least, I think that’s what a ‘93% upvote’ means. If you’re interested in how it went, you can find the interaction here.

In conclusion, if you’ve read and liked Dream Whisperer, all I can ask is: Please, write a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or whatever social media platforms you’re on. Talk to your friends about it. Anything that attracts positive attention is fine. Help me widen my reach.