02 / Sites
A short list, used on purpose.
Most ‘book marketing directories’ are a hundred links and no judgement. These are the desks I would actually spend money or a morning on — and the reason each one earns its keep. Bookmark the few you will use this season.
33 desks
BookBub
PaidBoth routesA real sales spike when you have a deal price and a strong cover.
Featured Deals are selective and expensive; treat a 'no' as normal. BookBub Ads are the always-on alternative — start small, target by comparable authors, and kill anything that does not earn back.
Written Word Media
PaidBoth routesBargain and free-run newsletters (Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, NewInBooks).
Book a run when you have a price promotion live on Amazon. These lists work best as a stack over 3–5 days, not a one-off blast.
The Fussy Librarian
PaidBoth routesGenre readers who actually open email.
Submit the exact deal price and category. Match your blurb to the genre they listed you in — a mismatch tanks click-through.
BookFunnel
Free + paidBoth routesDelivering review copies, reader magnets and group promotions without the format headache.
Use it as plumbing: a clean download, a landing page, and group promos with authors in your exact lane. The list you build is the asset.
StoryOrigin
Free + paidIndie-firstNewsletter swaps and review-copy tracking with other independent authors.
Swap only with authors whose readers would realistically buy you. A romance/thriller swap looks busy and converts nobody.
Prolific Works
Free + paidIndie-firstPermafree first-in-series giveaways that grow an email list.
Give away book one only if book two is for sale. A standalone giveaway trains people to expect free, not to wait for you.
NetGalley
PaidBoth routesLibrarians, booksellers and professional readers before publication.
A Co-op listing is the realistic door for independents. Upload a finished file, a real pub date, and a one-line pitch a librarian can repeat.
BookSirens
PaidIndie-firstHonest reader reviews without paying for the review itself.
You pay for access to matched readers, not for stars. Approve readers who actually read your genre. Amazon still requires you to follow their review rules.
Booksprout
Free + paidIndie-firstARC teams on a schedule, especially for series authors.
Set a deadline before launch, not after. A review that lands three months late does not help the algorithm you actually care about.
Goodreads
FreeBoth routesClaiming the book, running a giveaway, and being findable to librarians of taste.
Claim your author page, add the correct edition, and run an occasional giveaway. Do not live in the groups arguing with reviewers.
Kirkus Reviews
PaidBoth routesA trade-style review you can quote if it is genuinely good.
Indie Kirkus is a paid review, not a guarantee of a star. Budget for it only if you will use a strong pull-quote in the press release and on the cover.
Foreword Reviews
PaidBoth routesSerious independent non-fiction and literary fiction that wants librarian attention.
Clarion and the book-of-the-day programmes are the usual indie routes. Submit early — trade reviews that arrive after publication are wallpaper.
Publishers Weekly
Free + paidBoth routesTrade visibility, BookLife for independents, and knowing what the industry is actually buying.
BookLife is the PW door for self-published titles. A review here is one of the few indie notices a bookstore buyer has heard of.
The Bookseller
Free + paidBoth routesUK trade news, rights, and discovering which buyers still have a pulse.
Read it even if you cannot get into it. Knowing what Waterstones and the chains are stocking will save you pitching the wrong book to the wrong shop.
Shelf Awareness
FreeTrade-friendlyAmerican independent booksellers — the people who still hand-sell.
A mention here is gold for a store event. Follow their tips and reviews to see how booksellers talk about books like yours.
Literary Hub
FreeBoth routesLiterary and upmarket authors who can write a real essay, not a pitch.
Pitch an original piece tied to the book’s subject, not 'please review my novel'. Editors want a story the internet has not already had.
Amazon Ads
PaidBoth routesCapturing readers who are already shopping for a comparable title.
Sponsored Products against 10–20 specific competing ASINs, with a daily cap you can afford to lose while you learn. Read the search terms report weekly or you are donating.
Meta Ads
PaidBoth routesInterest-based reach when your cover and one-line promise are already strong.
Send traffic to a retailer or to an email magnet, not to a vague 'learn more'. Creative dies fast — plan to remake the image every couple of weeks.
Kindle Direct Publishing
FreeIndie-firstThe store most independent novelists still cannot ignore.
Categories, keywords, a series page, and a look-inside that starts on a strong page. Select KDP Select only if you have a plan for the exclusive days.
Draft2Digital
FreeIndie-firstWide distribution (Apple, Kobo, libraries) without twelve dashboards.
Use D2D for everywhere that is not Amazon, or for Amazon too if you want one upload. Their free formatting is good enough for most fiction.
IngramSpark
PaidBoth routesPrint that bookstores and libraries can actually order.
Set a wholesale discount and returnability you can live with. A shop that cannot return the book often will not stock it. Do not print 2,000 copies on hope.
ACX / Audible
Free + paidBoth routesGetting an audiobook into Audible without a studio in the spare room.
Royalty-share if you cannot pay a narrator up front; pay-for-production if you want to stay wide. Audio is a second launch — treat it as one.
Kobo Writing Life
FreeIndie-firstCanada, and readers who still prefer Kobo over Amazon.
Promotions through KWL are often more reachable than Amazon's. Price-match carefully so you do not trip Amazon's policies.
Alliance of Independent Authors
PaidIndie-firstVetted services, contracts advice, and a watchdog on the vanity-press swamp.
Use the partner-member ratings before you hire anyone. The watchdog list has saved more authors than any Facebook group.
Independent Book Publishers Association
PaidBoth routesAuthors acting as publishers who need trade access and education.
IBPA benefits (NetGalley, trade shows, co-op mailings) pay for the membership if you actually use two of them.
Society of Authors
PaidBoth routesUK contracts, collective action, and not facing a publisher alone.
Send them the contract before you sign it. That is the whole membership, and it is worth it.
Jane Friedman
FreeBoth routesClear-eyed industry analysis without the hustle.
Read The Hot Sheet and the archives on platform, query letters, and metadata before you spend on ads.
Kindlepreneur
FreeIndie-firstAmazon-specific tactics: categories, ads, and blurbs that scan.
Use the Publisher Rocket trial on one book before you buy it. Tools are only useful if they change a listing you already have.
David Gaughran
FreeIndie-firstMailing lists, launch strategy, and a long memory for Amazon's moods.
Start with Let's Get Digital and the mailing-list material. Ignore anyone selling you a 'hack' that contradicts this.
Reedsy
Free + paidBoth routesVetted editors, designers, and a discovery programme for new work.
Get three editorial quotes. Reedsy Discovery is a long shot — treat it as a bonus, not a plan.
The Creative Penn
FreeBoth routesThe long game: multiple formats, rights, and running a writing business.
The podcast archive is the syllabus. Listen to the episodes on rights and AI before you sign anything new.
Substack
Free + paidBoth routesA direct channel you own, for serials, essays, and the next book.
Write for readers of your genre, not for other writers. A monthly letter that a fan forwards is worth a daily note nobody asked for.
Kit (ConvertKit)
Free + paidBoth routesAn email list that is not rented from a social network.
One magnet, one welcome sequence, one monthly letter. Automations beyond that can wait until you have a thousand names.