In my first two posts of this three-part series, I showed you how to spot scams and explained why indie authors are such attractive targets for fraud. Now let’s talk about what you should actually be doing instead: the legitimate, bootstrap book marketing approaches that work when you’re willing to invest time instead of money.
This is the post I wish I’d read before I started trying to revive my writing career in early 2025 at age 77. Not because it would have made me rich overnight (spoiler: nothing will), but because it would have saved me from wasting energy on strategies that don’t match my situation.
The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Before we dive into specific tactics, let’s talk about the fundamental perspective shift that separates authors who succeed from those who burn out chasing the wrong strategies.
Stop thinking like a desperate author. Start thinking like a helpful resource.
The scammers want you to believe that book marketing is about shouting “Buy my book!” louder than everyone else. It’s not. Effective marketing, especially bootstrap marketing on a shoestring budget, is about creating value, building relationships, and establishing yourself as someone worth paying attention to.
When I ran my natural health website back in the day, I made decent money. You know what I didn’t do? Constantly pitch products. Instead, I wrote over 1,000 articles answering questions people actually had. I created twelve different email newsletters providing genuine value. I became a trusted resource first and a seller second.
The same principle applies to book marketing. Readers don’t owe you their attention. You have to earn it by being genuinely helpful, interesting, or entertaining–preferably all three.
Strategy 1: Reddit Communities (Where Real Conversations Happen)
Let me start with what many indie authors consider a valuable marketing resource: Reddit communities. Not because Reddit directly sells books (it mostly doesn’t), but because it’s where you learn what actually works by watching others try, fail, and occasionally succeed.
The communities worth your time:
r/selfpublishing (289,000+ members): This is your business school. Daily discussions about what’s working, what’s failing, which services are legitimate, and which are scams. Authors openly share their sales data, marketing results, and hard-won lessons.
r/WritingHub and similar craft communities: These focus on improving your actual writing rather than just selling what you’ve already written. The better your books become, the less marketing you need.
r/WritingWithAI (if you’re exploring AI collaboration like me): A smaller community figuring out best practices for human-AI creative partnerships. Invaluable if you’re experimenting with tools like ChatGPT or Claude for any aspect of your writing process.
How to use these communities effectively:
- Lurk for at least two weeks before posting anything. Learn the culture, understand what questions get helpful responses, and figure out the unwritten rules.
- Give before you take. Answer questions from newer authors, share what you’ve learned from your own experiments, contribute to discussions even when they’re not about your books.
- Ask specific questions rather than general ones. “Has anyone tried BookSends for a horror novel priced at $0.99?” gets better responses than “What promotional sites work?”
- Never directly promote your books unless explicitly invited (like in weekly self-promotion threads). Reddit users can smell desperation and they’ll downvote you into oblivion.
The value: Free education from authors who’ve already made the mistakes you’re about to make. The collective wisdom in these communities is worth thousands of dollars in consulting fees.
Strategy 2: Build Your Email List (The Asset You Actually Own)
Here’s something that took me embarrassingly long to understand: social media followers aren’t yours. Amazon customers aren’t yours. But email subscribers? Those are yours.
Platforms change algorithms. Amazon adjusts recommendations. Twitter becomes whatever Elon decides it should be today. But your email list? That’s an asset you control.
How to start building a list (when you’re starting from zero):
Offer something genuinely valuable for free. Not your book–most people won’t trade their email for a book from an unknown author. But a free short story in your genre? A helpful guide related to your expertise? A sample chapter plus bonus content? That works.
I’m using my AI-collaborative work October Testimonies and my free weekly newsletter as two lead magnets–free to anyone who signs up for updates about my Lost Pages series. The story itself demonstrates what I can do, and readers interested in innovative storytelling are exactly the audience I want.
Use a simple email service. Mailchimp offers free accounts for up to 500 subscribers. That’s plenty to start. Don’t overthink the technical aspects—you’re just collecting emails and sending occasional messages, not launching NASA shuttles.
Actually email your list. I know authors with thousands of subscribers who email them twice a year. That’s pointless. Your list needs regular contact to stay engaged–monthly at minimum, weekly is better if you have valuable things to say.
What to send: Behind-the-scenes updates about your writing process, first looks at new projects, recommendations for books you’re reading, genuine thoughts about your genre—anything that makes subscribers feel like insiders rather than just marketing targets.
The value: When you launch your next book, you can reach hundreds (eventually thousands) of interested readers directly, without hoping Amazon’s algorithm favors you or paying for advertising.
Strategy 3: Your Author Blog (But Only If You Meet Specific Conditions)
I’ve written extensively about why most authors probably shouldn’t blog. But for those who meet the right conditions, blogging can be incredibly valuable–just not for the reasons most marketing advice suggests.
You should blog if:
You genuinely enjoy the process of researching, writing, and publishing blog posts week after week. If it feels like homework, don’t do it.
You have something specific and unique to say that can’t be found elsewhere. Generic writing advice? There are thousands of sites covering that better than you probably can. Your specific expertise or unique perspective? That’s interesting.
You understand it’s a multi-year commitment. The authors who succeed with blogging started years before they saw results.
You’re building authority in your genre or niche rather than trying to directly sell books. My blog about horror writing, AI collaboration, and indie publishing at 77? That positions me as someone worth paying attention to. Posts that just say “Buy my book”? Those position me as someone to ignore.
What actually works in author blogging:
Write posts that help other authors solve problems you’ve already solved. When I write about learning to use Anthemion’s Jutoh for ebook formatting, that helps authors who are exactly where I was six months ago.
Document your journey rather than pretending you’ve already succeeded. My “three-year bestseller quest” posts are useful precisely because I’m figuring things out in real-time, not lecturing from a position of established success.
Answer questions nobody else is answering well. The intersection of AI collaboration and literary fiction at 77 years old? That’s pretty specific, and there aren’t many other people writing about it from lived experience.
The value: You build an audience that already knows and likes your work before they ever buy a book. When you launch your next novel, you’re not starting from zero–you’re launching to people who’ve been following your journey.
Strategy 4: Strategic Book Pricing and Free Promotions
This is where bootstrap authors can compete with traditionally published authors. We control our pricing completely, and we can experiment freely without anyone’s permission.
The strategies that actually work:
Permafree for series starters: Make the first book in your series permanently free. Yes, you earn nothing on that book. But readers who enjoy it will buy the rest of the series. Many successful indie authors built their careers on permafree strategies.
I haven’t done this yet because I’m still building my catalog, but it’s in my three-year plan.
Temporary promotional pricing: Drop your price to $0.99 for a limited time and promote it through legitimate services like BookSends, Freebooksy, or BargainBooksy. These services charge $25-100 per promotion but can drive hundreds of downloads when your book is priced attractively.
Kindle Unlimited enrollment: This is controversial in the indie community, but for many genres (especially romance and sci-fi), being in KU is essential. You earn money based on pages read rather than just sales, and Amazon promotes KU books more aggressively.
I’m not in KU yet because I’m still testing “wide” distribution (available on all platforms). But I’m watching the data, and if wide distribution doesn’t perform after six months, I’ll test KU enrollment.
The 99-cent impulse buy strategy: For standalone novellas or shorter works, $0.99-1.99 hits the impulse purchase sweet spot. Readers will take a chance on an unknown author at that price.
The value: You’re using pricing as a marketing tool rather than just trying to maximize per-unit profit. Getting your books into readers’ hands—even at low or no profit—builds your audience for future releases.
Strategy 5: Write More Books (The Strategy Nobody Wants to Hear)
Here’s the most effective marketing strategy that nobody wants to acknowledge: write more books.
Every book you publish does four things simultaneously:
- Earns direct royalties (the obvious one)
- Markets every other book you’ve written (the crucial one)
- Teaches you something about your readers (the valuable one)
- Builds your authority in your genre (the long-term one)
The math is brutal but clear: authors with one book rarely make meaningful money. Authors with three to five books start seeing traction. Authors with ten or more books often build sustainable income.
This is why I’m focused on my three-year plan rather than trying to make my memoir or October Testimonies into instant bestsellers. By mid-2026, I want at least a dozen books in my Lost Pages series available. That’s when the compound effect really kicks in.
The backlist multiplier effect:
When a reader discovers your latest release and loves it, they often go back and buy everything else you’ve written. This is called “sell-through,” and it’s where the real money lives in indie publishing.
Your first book isn’t really competing with other books for sales—it’s competing for the chance to introduce readers to your entire catalog. Even if it barely breaks even, it might be the marketing tool that drives thousands of dollars in future sales.
The value: Time spent writing your next book is almost always a better investment than time spent on elaborate marketing for your current book.
Strategy 6: Leverage Free Tools and Resources
The indie publishing world is rich with free resources if you know where to look. You don’t need expensive courses or consultants to learn this business.
Free education sources:
Reedsy Learning: Free courses on every aspect of self-publishing, from editing to cover design to marketing.
YouTube channels: Kindlepreneur, Written Word Media, and Self-Publishing with Dale all provide free, actionable advice without the scammy upsells.
Free tools you should be using:
Canva: For creating social media graphics, promotional images, and simple marketing materials. The free version is powerful enough for most indie authors.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: The AI I’ve been using every single day for almost twelve months now. As I type these words in early November of 2025, I’m about to re-subscribe for a second year. Highly recommended as the best AI tool for writers.
Grammarly free version: For basic proofreading and catching embarrassing typos.
Amazon’s Author Central: Claim your author page, add your bio and photo, link your blog, and track your sales. It’s free and surprisingly useful.
The value: You can build a professional author presence without spending money on tools and services. Save your budget for the things you genuinely can’t do yourself, like professional editing.
Strategy 7: Genre Reader Communities (Where Your Actual Readers Hang Out)
Stop trying to market to all readers. Start finding the specific readers who already love books like yours.
Where to find them:
Goodreads groups: There are active groups for every genre and subgenre. Join discussions, recommend other authors’ books, participate genuinely. Occasionally, when appropriate, mention your own work.
Facebook reader groups: “Cozy Mystery Readers,” “Grimdark Fantasy Fans,” “LGBT Romance Readers”—these groups might be goldmines if you participate authentically rather than just promoting.
Discord servers: Newer but growing fast. Many genres have active Discord communities where readers discuss books, recommend favorites, and discover new authors.
BookTok and Bookstagram: If you’re comfortable with video or visual content. I’m not particularly, at 77, but younger authors swear by these platforms.
How to participate without being spammy:
Give recommendations freely, including books that aren’t yours. Readers trust recommenders who point them toward great books regardless of who wrote them.
Participate in discussions about craft, themes, and what makes books in your genre work. Show that you understand and respect the genre rather than just trying to profit from it.
Share your genuine reading experience.
The value: When you launch your next book, you’re not interrupting strangers with unwanted promotions. You’re sharing news with a community that already knows and values your perspective.
Strategy 8: Amazon Also-Boughts and Category Optimization
This is free, it’s powerful, and most authors get it wrong.
How Amazon’s recommendation engine actually works:
Amazon shows your book to readers who’ve bought or looked at similar books. The algorithm determines “similarity” partly based on categories you’ve selected and partly based on which books are frequently purchased together.
What you should do:
Choose your categories strategically. You get two main categories but can request additional ones through Amazon support. Don’t just pick the biggest categories—pick categories where you can realistically reach the top 100. A #50 ranking in “Gothic Horror” means more visibility than a #5,000 ranking in “Horror.”
Study your successful competitors’ categories. Look at books similar to yours that are selling well. What categories are they in? What keywords appear in their titles and descriptions?
Update your book description strategically. Your description isn’t really for readers—it’s for Amazon’s algorithm first, then for readers. Include relevant genre keywords naturally in your description.
Encourage Also-Bought connections. If you have multiple books, mention them in your author note. If you have author friends in similar genres, coordinate launch timing so your books get purchased together.
The value: Better category placement means more organic visibility without paying for ads. This is where you can compete with traditionally published authors who don’t have the same flexibility to optimize.
What About Paid Advertising?
Notice I haven’t talked much about Amazon ads, Facebook ads, or other paid advertising. That’s deliberate.
Paid advertising can work, but it requires three things most bootstrap authors don’t have:
- A sufficient advertising budget to test and optimize ($300-500 minimum)
- Technical knowledge to set up campaigns properly
- Time to manage and adjust campaigns daily
I’ve researched Amazon advertising extensively (I even wrote a detailed post about it), and here’s my conclusion: it’s worth learning eventually, but it shouldn’t be your first marketing priority.
Get the free and low-cost strategies working first. Build your email list, establish your blog or newsletter, participate in communities, optimize your categories, and most importantly—write more books. Then, once you have a small catalog and a basic audience, test advertising with a modest budget.
If you try advertising before you’ve built that foundation, you’ll probably waste money advertising to cold audiences who aren’t ready to buy from an unknown author.
The 90-Day Bootstrap Marketing Plan
Enough theory. Here’s what I’d actually do if I were starting over today with zero audience and zero budget:
Week 1-2: Foundation
- Set up email capture on my website with a simple lead magnet
- Claim and optimize my Amazon Author Central page
- Join r/selfpublishing and two genre-specific communities
- Start lurking and learning (don’t post yet)
For Week 3-4: Optimization
- Research and select my Amazon categories carefully
- Rewrite my book descriptions with relevant keywords
- Set up basic social media profiles (focus on just one platform)
- Start responding to discussions in communities (giving value, not taking)
Week 5-8: Content Creation
- Write my first blog post or newsletter (something genuinely helpful)
- Continue active participation in communities
- Read and study books in my genre, noting what works
- Start building relationships with other authors at my level
Week 9-12: First Promotion
- Drop my book to $0.99 for a limited time
- Submit to one or two promotional sites (BookSends, Freebooksy)
- Email my small but growing list about the promotion
- Share the promotion in appropriate communities
The next 90 days:
- Repeat the content creation and community participation cycle
- Test different promotional strategies with small budgets
- Most importantly: Write the next book
The value: By day 180, you’ll have a small email list, established community presence, optimized Amazon presence, and be well into your next book. That’s a foundation for sustainable growth rather than desperate one-off promotions.
The Strategies I’m Not Recommending
Let me save you time by telling you what I’ve researched and decided not to pursue:
TikTok/Instagram for older authors: If you’re comfortable with video and visual content, these platforms work for some authors. I’m 77 and uncomfortable performing for a camera, so I’m not forcing it.
Elaborate author websites with e-commerce: Unless you’re planning to sell books directly (which requires technical setup and ongoing maintenance), a simple author website or blog is sufficient.
Author events and book signings: These can work if you’re naturally extroverted and have local venues available. I’m not, and I don’t.
Virtual book tours: Mostly ineffective unless you already have a substantial following. Save your energy.
Most social media: Pick one platform and do it well rather than spreading yourself thin across six platforms and doing none of them effectively.
The key is choosing strategies that match your personality, skills, and situation rather than forcing yourself to do everything some marketing guru claims is “essential.”
The Long Game Mindset
Here’s what I’ve learned after researching marketing extensively for the rejuvenation of my writing career: the authors who succeed are playing a completely different game than the desperate authors responding to scam emails.
They’re not looking for shortcuts. Instead, they’re building sustainable systems.
They’re not obsessing over this week’s sales numbers. They are focused on their backlist three years from now.
They’re not trying to game algorithms or find secret strategies, but they are creating genuine value and building real relationships.
They’re not spending thousands on services that promise overnight success. Instead, they’re investing time in strategies that compound over years.
This is why I’m not panicking about my memoir having only four reviews. I’m playing the long game. By the end of 2026, I want a dozen Lost Pages books available, a substantial email list, established presence in my target communities, and a body of blog posts that position me as someone worth reading.
Will I achieve bestseller status? Probably not. But I’ll have built something sustainable regardless—an audience that values my work, skills that serve me across all my books, and a platform that doesn’t depend on luck or algorithms. If I can turn CasaDay Press and ChetDay.com into a growing concern in the time I have left, I will at least have created something my sons or grandchildren can continue to build if they’re so inclined.
That’s worth more than any scammer’s promises.
Your Next Steps
Forget about the fake Macmillan representative who emailed me, forget about the $5,000 marketing courses promising secrets that don’t exist, and forget about overnight success.
Instead, ask yourself:
- Which one community will I commit to participating in genuinely?
- What valuable thing can I offer in exchange for email signups?
- What’s my Amazon optimization strategy?
- Which one content platform (blog, newsletter, or social) matches my strengths?
- Most importantly: When will I start my next book?
The scammers want you to believe marketing is mysterious and requires their expertise. The truth is that effective bootstrap marketing is simple (though not easy): create value, build relationships, optimize the basics, and keep writing.
That won’t make you rich next month. But it might build a sustainable author career over the next few years.
And that’s worth infinitely more than falling for a scam.
The above was the final post in my three-part series on protecting yourself from scams and building legitimate marketing strategies. If you found this series helpful, please share it with other indie authors who might benefit from these hard-won lessons.
Hey, I’m 77 and I’ve Got Stories…
Stories about what it’s like to navigate life at this age (spoiler: it’s weird, wonderful, and occasionally terrifying). And stories about collaborating with AI to write books in ways that would have seemed like science fiction when I started putting words on paper. Stories about the daily realities, unexpected surprises, and hard-won wisdom that comes from three-quarters of a century on this planet. If you’re curious about authentic aging, writing innovation, or just enjoy good storytelling from someone who’s been around the block, subscribe to my weekly newsletter “Old Man Still Got Stories.” I promise to make it worth your time.