These types of lists are always hard for me because there really are a lot of standouts when it comes to finding solid author marketing advice.
I’ve put this list together based on real professional experiences I’ve had with people, and of course the go-to resources I use to stay current on what’s happening in different areas of author marketing and book promotion. You may want to add a reminder to your book marketing calendar to check in with their feeds. (If you haven’t downloaded my free monthly planner yet, you can get it here.)
Jane Friedman @JaneFriedman
I’ve known Jane for a long time and her information is consistently fantastic. She is always offering helpful insights into publishing – what works and what doesn’t, and she spends time researching publishers, marketing ideas and often has some great guests who contribute their knowledge to her blog, janefriedman.com
IBPA @IBPA
This is one of the oldest running groups dedicated to indie author publishing. They are truly one of the leaders and strongest voices in the industry. They are a membership based organization, and the membership comes with many benefits, including their print newsletter, which I highly recommend. They also offer webinars which are always informative!
Mari Smith @marismith
Follow Mari for everything Facebook – she simply rocks it on Facebook. She also tweets out new Facebook tricks, changes and updates to all things Facebook. And of course, you should follow her on Facebook! On the web, she’s at: marismith.com.
Frances Caballo @CaballoFrances
Frances began as a reporter, moved into public relations, but found her love in social media. As a rock solid Social Media Strategist/Manager for authors, she stands among my top 30 websites for independently published authors. Find more goodness on Frances’ site, socialmediajustforwriters.com.
Peg Fitzpatrick @PegFitzpatrick
I got to know Peg through her work with Guy Kawasaki. Peg is a social media goddess and never ceases to amaze me with her mega-creative, super insightful posts. I really love her stuff. If you want to stay current on all things social media, and get some great ideas in the process, Peg is your gal. Find her on the web at pegfitzpatrick.com
KM Weiland @KMWeiland
KM’s website, helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com, is aptly named. She’s the award-winning author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel. She’s an invaluable mentor for writers who want to become authors – follow her for rock solid tips to improve your writing skills.
John Kremer @JohnKremer
John’s been around self-publishing for a long time and knows his stuff. He wrote the book 1001 Ways To Market Your Book and shares his insight both on his blog, bookmarketingbestsellers.com, and via his Twitter feed. His book has been an invaluable resource to a great many authors!
Anne R. Allen @annerallen
Anne’s blog, annerallen.com, which she writes with Ruth Harris, is full of unmissable tips for new writers. They both are industry veterans who are dedicated to helping authors create the best possible work AND engineer a successful launch. They are an invaluable resource for authors, both indie and traditionally published.
Joan Stewart @PublicityHound
Joan is the Publicity Hound and she is as tenacious as the name suggests. Joan is my go-to for all things marketing. She has fantastic resources on her website, publicityhound.com, great webinars and shares a ton of helpful marketing insight via her Twitter feed.
Joanna Penn @thecreativepenn
I’ve known Joanna since she was just an author with a few books – now she’s a bit of an empire. She shares some fantastic marketing wisdom (having been there herself) and she is really dialed into what works in marketing and what’s just a smoke screen. I love her honesty and passion for what she does! Find her at thecreativepenn.com.
Mark Coker @markcoker
Founder of Smashwords, Mark has become the voice of the independent author. He works tirelessly to give authors the best possible experience on his site: Smashwords.com. He’s also a great speaker (I always love his sessions) and he’s a fan of hard data. The numbers never lie and he often releases real-time stats on book publishing that will blow your mind.
Hugh Howey @hughhowey
Best known for his internationally bestselling book, WOOL, Hugh is now one of the many great spokespeople for self-publishing. He shares a lot of great data and insight that’s a must for any author. Check him out at hughhowey.com.
Social Media Examiner @SMExaminer
So this isn’t a single person (though technically run by Michael Steizner) but it’s a mega-portal for all things social media. I get their newsletter (and attend their yearly conference in San Diego) and I can’t say enough about the fabulous content they produce at socialmediaexaminer.com.
BookWorks @bookworksNYC
Run by Betty Sargent, who has a very impressive publishing resume, it’s the new go-to for all things publishing (both traditionally and self-published). Their blog, bookworks.com, is fantastic, helpful and the entire BookWorks team works really hard to get out only the best and most helpful information on self-publishing. They have worked to create a community where authors and professionals can come together to share guidance and insights – follow them to become a part of this community.
Indie Reader @indiereader
The folks at Indie Reader are really focused on creating great content for authors, which I love and their Twitter feed is really informative. Packed with author marketing ideas and book promotion tips, they are most certainly one to follow!
Andrea Dunlop @Andrea_Dunlop
Andrea has a great Twitter feed, packed with some writing inspiration and book promotion advice. She’s an author herself and a former in-house publicist at a major publishing house. I’ve been on a few publishing panels with Andrea and she knows her stuff.
Amy Porterfield @AmyPorterfield
If you’re serious about bringing your A-Game to the market and you’re ready to start digging into the business side of your work, you should 100% follow Amy on Twitter. Her focus is on creating additional sources of revenue, building your business, creating great blog content and a lot of other business-related topics. You know publishing is a business, right?
Amy Collins @NewShelvesBooks
Amy Collins shares a mix of publishing advice, marketing offers, interviews, author shout outs and industry news sprinkled with a good dose of humor. So when it comes to being a solid bet on social, she’s really got it figured it and you won’t be wasting your time with this follow.
Joel Friedlander @JFbookman
Joel’s passion for his topic is unmistakable, he shares great information via his blog and Twitter feed. His blog, thebookdesigner.com, designed to help support self-published authors is a fantastic resource if you want to publish the right way.
Are there any people you love following? Please feel free to share their names in the comments!
Want to share this list with your circle? Feel free to use these tweets!
Click to Tweet: Rock your 2019 with these awesome book marketing gurus! via @bookgal #bookmarketing #amwriting https://bit.ly/2rPM2VJ
Click to Tweet: 19 book marketing experts you MUST follow in 2019! via @bookgal #bookmarketing #authortips https://bit.ly/2rPM2VJ
Thanks for the great article! Here’s to the best year–so far!
I already follow some of these gurus and I’m excited to get to know them all. I also like Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. He offers lots of great info on his website, blog and YouTube channel.
Sonia, yes! Dave is fantastic and has a great knowledge base! I can’t wait to hear how you like everyone else on this list that is new to you. Wishing you a fabulous 2019!
Solid list, Penny. Thanks very much for sharing… and here’s to a great 2019 for us all as we get busy with new goals and new ideas!
I’m starting this year with a goal to do LESS commercial and corporate narration, and MORE audiobook production for indies.
(I’m also going to read more marketing blogs and follow the twitter feeds you listed here!)
Darius, thank you so much! I can’t wait to hear how your goals progress and how your audiobook production for indies goes. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much for including me in this great list, Penny!
You are most welcome! Thanks for having such a great blog!