Tim McKay, welcome back to our site, and thank you so much for accepting another interview with us. How have you been doing? How is your debut book going?

Hey again! So great to chat again — hope you’re doing well.

It’s been good but busy on my end! Work’s been busy, I’m in the middle of moving, I’m neck deep in writing the sequel to Rise of Dresca (check the review here), I have active blog tours, I’m constantly working on book marketing, and the list goes on. It’s a ton of fun, to be honest, and exactly what I signed up for. I miss having so much on the go, and I keep meeting new people and finding new opportunities. So it’s been a really busy but exciting period and I’m just enjoying the ride!

Tim, on the previous interview about your amazing book, Rise of Dresca, you mentioned your experience with marketing. Can you tell us about it and how it is influencing the success of your book?

Well, it’s still very early to measure the book’s success – there’s been constant ups and downs, which I fully expected.

The initial waves of sales from friends, family, and people looking to support a new indie author shot my book up the Amazon ranks overnight – I was in the #11 spot for YA Dark Fantasy here in Canada, however briefly, and now it’s much lower down. But every time there’s a new sale, it shoots back up. It’s a bit of a roller coaster, to be honest, and you learn to check in here and there without getting wrapped up in it until you’ve really established yourself.

But where my marketing experience has done wonders has been in building a follower base, especially on Twitter/X and Amazon. My number of followers on both rises daily – slower on Amazon, but on X I’m at about 5,500 followers after only 3.5 months of being active. I’m not as active on Twitter as some authors, but I treat the account as a major opportunity to showcase who I am (as an author and person) and build some credibility. I think that’s the number one thing new authors need to do if they want to stand a fighting chance.

We know that marketing is something very complicated, and there is no 1-2-3-success code, BUT, Tim, can you share the steps that you took in marketing before publishing your book?

Oh gosh. See, this is my first book, and I love marketing. So the period before and after my launch has been one huge wave of experimenting and refining, trying lots of everything and then sticking to what works.

There’s a lot I did this time around I won’t do for the sequel, but every experiment still put my book out there for a wider audience and helped build a foundation for everything I’m doing now. I think that’s about the best you can do when starting new.

One major step I took was lining up editorial reviews to build some credibility (including my awesome review from you, still my favorite haha), and then I jumped into creating socials accounts (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, IG, Facebook, Goodreads) and an author website (which an awesome developer friend did for me). I even set up a blog account on Medium, which I also use for work (which is nice because it’s like I’m being paid to promote my writing skills and therefore my book too!).

I think a lot of authors stretch themselves too thin early on, so one thing I did was pick an account I thought I’d be best at and focus my energy there. So that’s why my Twitter/X following is growing so much faster than the rest, by design.

What is the most important thing that we, as authors, have to do, before publishing our books that will make a difference after we publish it?

My answer to this probably isn’t what you’d expect. Most authors would say editing or beta reading to make sure your final version is pristine and you have early reviews to make sure it’s received well.

My advice: check your mind and heart to make sure this is the right path for you, especially when it comes to marketing. A LOT of authors HATE marketing, and I don’t just mean they don’t enjoy it. They have an ideological hatred for it and think there’s virtue in being a humble, starving artist. If that’s your attitude, you’ll be miserable (or arrogant if/when you do succeed).

If you learn to love marketing and treat it as any other skill, you’ll enjoy the ups and downs as a challenge, a way to grow and get better at reaching others.

Marketing is just taking something of value and finding smart ways to share it with others, which is a good thing. So drop the virtue and get to work! Take some courses, study copywriting, pay for ads, and show some backbone. If you’re confident in your work, don’t shy away from putting it out there for others to enjoy. If you don’t, you’re robbing them of the chance to experience something wonderful.

Ok. We are authors, we write. We do not market! Lol. Just kidding. Tim, how important is it to know and practice marketing as an author? What difference does it make?

Haha, this is exactly what i was just talking about. I think every author should learn to market. You can leave it to others, but then you’re not in control of your own message. If you’re like me, you’ll hate that and be miserable very quickly, so take control and put yourself out there!

Even better, I’m convinced learning marketing makes you a better writer. Study copywriting (writing marketing copy, the art of writing persuasively) and your fiction will improve overnight, for obvious reasons. If you get better at persuading people, at using psychology principles to influence people through your writing, you’ll get better at creating rich, evocative experiences for them in your books.

There’s no downside here. But like I said, bad thinking prevents a lot of authors from learlning these essential skills, and as a result, they rob the world of the value they could be putting out there in their books.

Is it bad to see publishing as business?

Nope. Again, what’s worse to me is calling bad thinking a “virtue” and holding yourself back. You’re not just robbing yourself, you’re robbing the rest of us of all the good you could be doing.

Marketing is just an aspect of getting people to buy. What are other skills that authors, specially Indie authors must cultivate?

Very good question, and honestly, I’m still working on it myself!

A lot of authors are introverts, so I’d say a huge skill to cultivate is networking. You don’t need to be giving speeches or become the life of the party, but if you can make solid connections in short bursts, you’ll start seeing amazing things happen, and you can still be an introvert the other 95% of the time.

The golden question Tim: What is the biggest mistake Authors should avoid when it comes to marketing, in your point of view? What are the mistakes that you see all the time that make you cringe?

I’d say there’s a fine line between eager and desperate, and the moment people sense the latter, you’ve lost them. Don’t give up, but if you start to sound needy in your marketing efforts, you might need to step back and take some time to put together a better plan and better copy.

You need to develop a consistent, authentic, interesting voice, so don’t let dips in sales shatter your confidence, and don’t beg.

Rise of Dresca got an updated, rad new cover that is very slick. How important is the cover Tim when it comes to marketing?

Yeah, I couldn’t have been happier with the cover change, which was one of the best benefits of dropping my publisher and going full indie! I took back control of my book and got the cover done right, with a style and feel that fit me and my book.

I saw the difference instantly. I’ve received comment after comment from people saying how much they like the new cover. Your cover is the first thing people notice, whether you like it or not, so it’s very important.

And when it comes to marketing, visuals in ads are powerful, so choose wisely. My new cover draws in a heck of a lot more likes, follows, and link clicks than the old one did.

How did you go about the design of the cover, or the concept?

I don’t have an artistic bone in my body (not visual art, anyway!) so I searched around for a designer with a style and portfolio that appealed to me (in my case, Rachel Bostwick, who is just awesome to work with).

The original concept came from me, but I approached the cover design very loosely and let Rachel have fun with it. I trusted her skill and creativity, and that trust paid off. My only real guidelines were the feel I wanted (darker but less creepy than the first cover I got elsewhere) with a cutout style ruby and Celtic weaves/symbols incorporated into the design. Maybe some added snakes and/or dragons. The rest of what you see is all her.

Is it better to do it yourself, or hire a pro to do it for you? Is the money worth investing?

Hey, if you have the skills, go for it. Enjoy those bragging rights! But if you’d rather spend more time writing, take a chance on getting it done right by a pro. If you search around, there are some very affordable cover designers out there, and if you can budget a little extra to buy their top-tier work, do it.

In my case, I’d say it was worth every penny. Why settle for a low quality cover?

Tim, before we go, let us talk about your book and the results of your book so far. In terms of numbers, if you want to talk about it, how’s it going? How are people reacting from your marketing efforts?

Well, like I said earlier, I’ve done a much better job at building a follower base, much faster than I expected.

But as for sales, I’ve heard horror stories of people selling barely any copies. I see almost daily posts from authors celebrating their first book sold in a year like they just won the Nobel. It’s a tough gig, and I knew starting out as a new indie author would have its challenges.

That said, I’ve made a few hundred bucks in my first month and I’m just starting to branch out. I just dropped off a handful of copies to my local Chapters (Canada’s B&N) and my first signing is next weekend. We’ll see how that goes! All my efforts so far have been digital, and I’m actually looking forward to connecting with people in person for a change!

In terms of results, what should writers expect, from your experience, after putting all that hard work in this bloody marketing thing? Lol

Oh, I have no idea. I think it varies immensely.

For indie authors, a lot depends on who you know, how much marketing experience and skill you bring into it, and, to be frank, whether you’re what the market is looking for right now. If you try to break norms and stand out as something different, you’ll have to work harder early on to earn fans and followers before you’ll see real growth, and that’s what I expected for me.

So it’s actually gone better in my case than I expected, but it’s still an uphill battle.

You’ve read my book, so you know what I mean: I didn’t write for literary snobs, drama lovers, or fantasy trivia gurus. I wrote for people looking for an intense, evocative reading experience that’ll keep them on edge (a fantasy book with a thriller’s pace and dark tone). I meet people all the time who want that, and I have so many people telling me they love the book and can’t wait for the second, but connecting with more people just like them isn’t always easy. I know they’re out there, but I’m still in the early days of finding them.

What if I sell nothing? What should I do?

Keep writing. There’s going to be dips, and the worst thing you can do is let marketing suck away all your time and energy at the expense of what you came here to do: write.

Are there any books/resources you recommend when it comes to marketing books or sales that will help our the writer reading this?

My advice would actually be to step away from “book marketing” books and advice. Look elsewhere. Take some copywriting and business marketing courses, subscribe to marketing newsletters, and watch some videos from other industries to see what they say about starting a business or marketing a new product.

You might not like the idea, but that’s what putting out a new book is doing, and you’ll be amazed by the creative ideas you’ll find elsewhere.

Are you available for a chat or exchange of experience with other authors?

Absolutely. I love connecting with other authors (find Tim on Twitter), especially ones in similar genres to my own. I think we as authors rise together, so I love learning new ideas and I love sharing my own.

Any last piece of advice for that author that has tried it all and it’s still on the zeros? What do you have to say to them?

Don’t quit your day job.

Hahaha that was mean (though I’m sure they’re forced to do something else, like most of us).

Honestly, all you can do is take life one day at a time. We all have to figure our path out as we go. Keep learning (writing, editing, copywriting, marketing, formatting, design, etc.), keep writing, and keep trying, but don’t be afraid of changing tracks. You may need to start a new series, or write in a different genre, or go back to school, or take a break from it all and come back fresh when you’re ready. Or switch from indie to traditional publishing, or from traditional to indie. I really don’t know. There are no guarantees in this game, so all you can do is experiment and take life as it comes.

If you love dark fantasy filled with thrillers, do check out Tim McKay‘s book, Rise of Dresca. Reviews here. Enjoy.

Click to get your copy Amazon Universal link || Amazon US || Goodreads || Author site

Listen to the podcast review of Rise of Dresca