Business Post: Mythbusting for Indie Authoring - Traditional Publishing doesn't require promoting from Authors (Patreon)

I.... don't really know where to start with this. Mostly because it somehow seems to be a somewhat persistent myth when anyone in the industry who has spent any time researching has realised that this is so untrue, it's laughable.

Trad publishers now expect their authors to do a TON of marketing, from interviews to book signings to having a social media presence. Heck, YA authors seem to live and die off their Twitter accounts (I exaggerate. A bit). 

Mind you, trad publishers still do a bunch of marketing for you that is less obvious (interfacing with libraries and booksellers, getting your book listed and sometimes - if you're big enough - noticed by them. Even potentially paying for your book to be on those tables and end caps and the like).  

But the social media aspect? Reaching out to bloggers and others? That's on you. 

As for indie favorites about getting on Bookbub, Facebook Ads and AMS ads? Those aren't even done by trad pub for the most part (though that's beginning to change I hear). Mostly, they release and push your book (If they push) for 2 months and then run away and let it die.

Unless you push them of course and ask for your book back, at which point, from what I hear, they suddenly have marketing plans! 

So... yeah. Promoting is very much an author's job these days, whether you are indie or trad. Now, you might choose not to do social media as an indie and focus on releases, newsletters and FB ads to drive sales and be highly successful, but if you're trad - social media is the game.