Book sales looking slow?
Time to make that number grow.

Distribution decides where a book can be bought. Marketing decides whether anyone goes looking for it. Getting a title listed with retailers, in the right formats and the right territories, is a supply question and it is a separate service. Book marketing services start after that, working on the metadata, categories, content and outreach that bring readers to a listing that already exists. Promoting a book readers cannot buy in their region wastes the spend that reaches them.

An ARC is an Advance Reader Copy, sent to readers, reviewers and bloggers before publication so they can read the book in time to talk about it on release day. ARC distribution is scheduled backwards from the launch date, which is why it needs lead time. Reviews that come from an ARC program are genuine reader opinions, so their content is never controlled by the campaign.

Before publication, not after. The pre-launch stage is where cover reveals, pre-order campaigns, early reader outreach and teaser content do their work, and every one of those depends on having a release date to build toward. A book that is already published can still be marketed, but the launch window, when retailer visibility and reader attention are easiest to earn, has passed. Pre-orders only exist before a release date, so that option closes the day the book goes live.

BookTok and Bookstagram reward books that give viewers something to react to, which usually means a strong premise, a character readers argue about, or a visual hook the cover already carries. Quiet literary titles and technical non-fiction are harder to fit that format and are often better served by podcasts, newsletters and reader communities. The platform choice follows the book, not the other way round.

Your final cover, your release date, your book's description and keywords, and your retailer links once they exist. An author photo and short bio, because interviews and features will ask for both. Send anything already published about the book too, including a trailer, an excerpt or earlier press. Any audience you already have counts, meaning a mailing list, social following or previous readers. Tell us your genre and your closest comparable titles, since positioning starts there.

Paid media is the line that moves most, because ad spend is separate from the work of running the campaign and scales with how many platforms you buy on. Campaign length is the next driver, since a long pre-launch runway costs more than a short one. Influencer collaborations, podcast placements and original video production all cost more than organic posting. Assets you already own, such as a cover, a trailer or author photography, pull that line down.

Ask what they will actually do each week, named as activities rather than outcomes, because no honest provider can promise sales, rankings or reviews. Ask whether ad spend sits inside the quote or beside it. Ask which platforms suit your genre and why. Searching book marketing services near me returns very different offers, and the ones that answer in deliverables rather than promises are the shortlist.