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For over ten years, I read script after script after manuscript, searching for the needle in the haystack. There is an old saying in Hollywood that goes like this: “If anybody knew what made a hit film—every film would be a hit.”

I have been writing, publishing, and guiding writers to do the same for more years than I’d like to admit. I got my start in Hollywood working as a story analyst for agents and production companies, and my job was to evaluate scripts and manuscripts, looking for material that was unique, compelling, and had the whiff of a box-office hit—or at least a cult film favorite.

One of the things I learned during my time as a story analyst is that life isn’t fair. There were plenty of great scripts and manuscripts that didn’t fit the Hollywood mold for all sorts of nonsensical reasons. And there were plenty of terrible scripts that were made into films. There’s another saying in Hollywood, which counter-intuitively goes like this: “They don’t call it show friends.” Suffice to say that Hollywood is a slightly difficult and completely unfair work environment.

Beyond learning that life is—surprise—unfair, I also learned the bones of a story on a very deep level. I wrote a book about screenwriting called Just Effing Entertain Me: A Screenwriter’s Atlas, and the title says it all, really. Be entertaining. It’s bread and circus, writers.

What about the marketing?

But I’ve made myself clear on that point. So, what about the marketing? Cayce, who copyedited my book, The True Adventures of Gidon Lev: Rascal. Holocaust Survivor. Optimist., has already shared a lot of good resources on her blog, for writers looking to find the checklist and dos and don’ts of marketing. There are many websites and strategies, and one can simply use Google to find even more. The Alliance of Independent Authors has a great group on Facebook and is, for my money, the most trustworthy place to ask and answer questions about writing craft and marketing.

Make sure you have the quality

Recently I came across an author with a wonderful website, social media presence, and author page on Amazon. He had absolutely everything to the tee. But when he sent me a manuscript for the sequel to his first book (I had not read the first installment), I was aghast. The hero was passive, the story beats were missing—as was the three-act structure, the villain, and any backstory or world-building. None of the basics of a good story were anywhere in evidence. This writer, it seemed, had put his focus entirely in one direction rather than any other. Sure, the face of his marketing looked great, but the story was not there yet, and thusly the marketing would not yield good word-of-mouth, critical reviews, or sales beyond FAF (friends and family.) So it’s about balancing these two things out, with the focus on the story itself, because without that, nothing else matters.

You can spend as much time and money as you want on marketing, but if the story isn’t well-crafted, entertaining, compelling, moving, and meaningful, it’s just not going to be read. So that, to me, is the holy grail.

But. Let’s say you have written a truly well-crafted, original, heartfelt piece of fiction or creative nonfiction, and you know this because you wrote your heart out, you worked with an editor, you got feedback, beta reads, and the whole nine yards. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there, it really won’t make a sound. That is, no one will hear it.

Even if you publish with a traditional publisher, you will need to have an established platform, and a social media following—minimally.

The final draft isn’t the final step

As a developmental editor, one of my biggest frustrations is when a writer finally gets a good “final” draft and then drops the ball because the next step—marketing—seems completely overwhelming. There sits a book—one that readers will love—on a shelf because the writer feels too ill-equipped, unqualified, and just plain overwhelmed to take the next steps. I could weep at all the untold stories just sitting on shelves and on computer hard drives. The writers had invested sometimes years of their life and certainly a lot of blood, sweat, tears, hours, and money only to give up before the race really begins. To me, it’s like sliding a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings directly into the garbage can. What a shame.

Pitch your book through articles

So rather than go over the list of usual suspects, like book bloggers, giveaways, and trade reviews, I want to mention something that seems so obvious yet that writers often overlook: write articles about an aspect of your book, and pitch those articles to publications that might want them. One of my favorite websites about writing, writers, and pop culture is Lit Hub.

If you pay attention, you’ll notice that many of the articles about “The Top Ten Scary Folk Stories” have been written by a writer who has authored a horror book involving—wait for it—a folk story. Once you notice this, you can’t unsee it. Over and over again, you’ll find this to be the case. A writer riffs on an aspect of his or her book and publishes the article in the right place and voila—instant marketing. The downside to this is that it’s time-consuming. The upside is that it’s free marketing and that it ups your credibility as a writer. Now you have more than written a book; you have also published in Great Books Magazine—now you have what we call “a clip”—a nonbook credit. I have clips in the Huffington Post, Moment Magazine, MovieMaker Magazine, Script Magazine, and the Times of Israel, to name a few.

None of them are about my book. But now, dear reader, I am right there alongside you because I’ve been spending the last weeks since my book came out writing and pitching articles about my book. Any angle I can think of. My book is about a child survivor of the Holocaust. There are three angles immediately evident: parenting relationships under duress, aging and memory in biographies, and intolerance and the consequences of it—then and now.

Helpfully enough, every publication has different requirements. Some want five hundred words, some want 750, some want more. Have a think: What do you have to say about your book—about the process of writing it (Writer’s Digest is your market for that) and about the themes surrounding it (look up publications about those themes)? You can even write about any trends that you notice related to your book and its genre (the folk story horror novel).

You can’t write an article that says “Why you should buy my book.” You have to think of an angle that includes your book—yes—but that is helpful or elucidating for a general reader out there. I’m doing it right now. I’ve made you aware of my book, but I’ve also imparted some information about writing and about marketing and about getting clever with your approach.

I have been an essayist for many years, so to me it’s second nature to write and to pitch articles. If you truly feel that this type of writing is not for you, don’t sell yourself short. An essay—or article—has the same qualities as a novel or creative nonfic book. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It has a theme. It has a point. Your guideline is the word count limitation.

Sometimes I think if I have to write one more time of the fifteen thousand children imprisoned in or transported through the Theresienstadt concentration camp, fewer than 100 survived, I’m going to lose it. But it must be done. This book is a part of my life now, and I owe it that much.

Marketing is dynamic; it’s a process. It’s not one big launch then you’re done. I have seen what happens to books launched in that way. Sales to family, friends, and well-wishers and then a rapid descent into irrelevance.

You have to keep your book relevant. Nobody is going to do this for you. Look for opportunities to write and pitch articles or even op/eds, and keep your eye out for awards or competitions you can enter your book or an essay about your book in. Wring your project out, in other words, for opportunities to get it in front of people and, importantly, do this consistently over time.

How many different people can you greet? What kind of interesting conversation can you and your book become a part of?

Julie Gray is a writer and developmental editor living in Tel Aviv. You can learn more about Julie on her website, join The Fabulists on Facebook, and check out her books Just Effing Entertain Me or The True Adventures of Gidon Lev.