What's the Difference Between Author Marketing and Book Marketing?
In today’s literary landscape, authors are not just responsible for writing a great book. They're also expected to promote them, build communities, and maintain a digital presence. But many writers conflate author marketing and book marketing, treating them as one and the same. While they’re deeply connected, these are two fundamentally different areas of your writing life. Understanding the distinction can unlock a more sustainable and fulfilling author journey.
At a glance, the difference may seem simple: Author marketing is about building a long-term connection with readers. Book marketing is about selling a specific book.
But when we look deeper, the distinction is about more than just timeline or tactics. It’s about purpose, identity, and the roles you play in the literary ecosystem—not only as a creator, but as a contributor.
What Is Author Marketing?
Author marketing is rooted in who you are—your writer persona, so to speak. It’s the cultivation of your author identity: the values you stand for, the conversations you engage in, the stories you tell beyond the page. It’s how you show up in the world of readers, writers, and thinkers before, during, and after your book launches. (For more on uncovering your writer persona, download Crafting Your Author Identity: A Workbook for Defining Your Voice and Connecting Authentically with Readers for FREE.)
Author marketing means building an author platform, which is a combination of channels (social media, newsletter, website, literary publications, events, etc.) where your presence can live, grow, and connect with others. This platform isn’t designed to push a product. It’s designed to share your voice. When done intentionally, it fosters authentic relationships and builds reader loyalty that lasts longer than any single campaign.
More importantly, it positions you as a literary contributor, not just a book peddler. Whether you’re sharing personal reflections on writing, posting behind-the-scenes glimpses of your drafting process, or creating space for dialogue around themes your work explores, you’re engaging in something bigger than self-promotion. You’re building a literary community around your work and your values.
This is your legacy work. It’s what people follow, remember, and return to.
What Is Book Marketing?
Book marketing, on the other hand, is project-specific. It’s focused on the book you’re releasing and the path you take to make sure it’s visible, accessible, and compelling to your target readers.
Where author marketing is long-form, ongoing, and relational, book marketing is campaign-based, goal-oriented, and time-sensitive. It revolves around your launch strategy: getting reviews, pitching to media, setting up events, running ads, coordinating giveaways, collaborating with influencers, optimizing metadata, and pushing preorders or sales.
Book marketing has a clear finish line—typically the end of your launch period (or your budget). And while a well-executed campaign can increase visibility and drive book sales, it does not inherently build lasting engagement unless it’s supported by a broader author platform.
Why Author Marketing and Book Marketing Both Matter
In short, book marketing sells a product. Author marketing builds a presence. And when the two work together, that’s where real momentum happens.
Think of your writing career like a garden: book marketing is planting and harvesting individual crops, while author marketing is nurturing the soil year-round. One without the other creates imbalance—either you’re always scrambling to grow something new, or you have rich soil with nothing blooming.
Sustainable success comes from understanding how to weave both together: building an author presence that evolves with you and launching your books in a way that makes them matter—to the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons.
How Our Galaxy Publishing Offers Author Support
At Our Galaxy Publishing, we want you to step into your role as an author. Our approach is holistic, strategic, and deeply personal. We know that building a career in publishing takes more than just writing well. It takes intention, infrastructure, and the confidence to show up fully in your creative vision. Here’s how we can support you with both:
Author Marketing Support
1:1 consultations to clarify your author identity, mission, and goals
Help building or refining your author platform (website, newsletter, social media, blog, etc.)
Long-term content planning to nurture your audience year-round
Personal branding guidance tailored to your writing style and values
Book Marketing Support
Custom book launch strategy (prelaunch to post-launch)
Support with reviews, media pitches, metadata, and online visibility
Promotional content creation and influencer outreach
Help with building sustainable, repeatable launch processes for future titles
Whether you’re preparing for your first release or looking to shift into long-term author visibility, we’re here to help you build a platform—and a career—that supports your work and your voice.
Our Galaxy Publishing is an educational and service-based platform that helps writers navigate the publishing industry with clarity, confidence, and creative control. Whether you’re self-publishing, seeking a literary agent, or still figuring out W T F you’re doing, we provide the tools, resources, and support to make your writing and publishing journey intentional, strategic, and powerful.