Does Promoting Other Authors Sell Your Books?

A Literal Literary Loser Uplifts Urgently

I’ve asked (and tried to answer) the question of do ads sell books, do book tours sell books, do literary conferences sell books, do videos sell books, and do scammers who contact you using bad English grammar sell books?

Last week, in “It Takes a Village (To Sell Your Book)” I quoted a viewer of my new YouTube series, Explaining the USSR to My Kid - Through Books, who pointed out that maybe I should mention my own books when talking about other authors’ books - or else where was the promotion?

Her comment inspired the topic for this week’s essay: Does promoting other authors sell your books?

As always, the definitive answer is: I don’t know.

Nobody knows.

Nobody in publishing knows anything. (That is, in fact, the only thing I know for sure.)

But here’s what I’ve been able to glean: I think it has some effect.

My YouTube channel has been up for less than a month. The latest video posted yesterday:

It promotes another author’s book. I didn’t find a logical place to mention my own two, Soviet historical fiction titles (I was too busy pontificating; notice the multiple occasions when it’s obvious from my teen’s face that she can’t believe I am still talking), but I did put buy links to “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” and “The Nesting Dolls” in the description. Thanks fellow author who suggested that!

I have seen a small spike in sales since I started the YT channel. But is it due to the YT channel, or the post I wrote for Jewish Book Council? Or maybe it’s thanks to my free serial on SoapHub? Or my podcast and book club appearances?

I don’t know! Nobody knows! Nobody in publishing knows anything!

But here is one thing I do know (everyone in publishing also contradicts themselves a lot): Promoting other authors is fun!

When she’s not rolling her eyes at me, notice how much my teen and I laugh while making our YT videos. (How else can I get a Gen Z to talk to me except by pointing a camera at her?)

I love getting the word out about books I truly enjoyed, and promoting my fellow creatives.

I’ll be doing exactly that on Thursday, October 12 - and supporting a good cause, too!

Please join me in New York City at 6:30 PM when UJA Federation presents my conversation with Masha Rumer, author of “Parenting With an Accent: How Immigrants Honor Their Heritage, Navigate Setbacks, and Chart New Paths for Their Children.”

We’ll talk about what it’s like to be an immigrant child with immigrant parents, an immigrant parent with American children, interracial marriage, interfaith marriage, intercultural marriage, the bilingual brain (is there really an IQ boost?), and what my kids love to refer to as intergenerational “trauma.”

There will be something for everyone, whether you’re an immigrant, the offspring of an immigrant, the partner of an immigrant, or just somebody who loves hearing other people’s stories. (And what reader/writer doesn’t love hearing other people’s stories?)

Proceeds go to support UJA’s work fighting poverty in the US and supporting the Ukrainian war effort.

More information and registration at: https://nyjewi.sh/fsu-kickoff.

I don’t know if championing Masha’s book (which is wonderful, by the way, and will be featured on my channel shortly) will help sell my own books.

But I do know that it will serve an even higher cause. And I couldn’t be happier about that. (Also, karma. Good karma never hurt anybody.)

We’ll see you there!