How Much Time Should Authors Spend on Marketing?

The constant pressure to market can feel like quicksand—the harder you struggle, the deeper you sink. This week, LL and Tara tackle the question every indie author dreads: how much time do I really need to spend on marketing? They break down the difference between marketing (what you pay for) and PR (what you pay for in time), share their current writing-to-marketing splits (spoiler: it’s messier than the 80/20 ideal), and get brutally honest about TikTok, cognitive dissonance, and why organizing your ad workflow might matter more than another course. Plus: why you should pick one platform and actually learn it, the soul-sucking realities of social media algorithms, and a detour into quicksand fears, plane safety patents, and potential dog adoption.What questions do you have about balancing marketing and writing time? Drop them in the comments!Support the Show - Buy Our Books!* Shop Tara’s books on Amazon* Shop LL’s books Show NotesEpisodes referenced:* Episode 10 on BookBub (last week)Platforms & tools discussed:Book Promotion Sites* BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/partners - Featured deals that move the needle (mentioned as the gold standard)* E-Reader News Today - https://www.ereadernewstoday.com* - Works well for cozy mystery, less effective for historical fiction* Written Word Media - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com - Parent company of Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, NewInBooks* Book Rebel - https://bookrebel.com* The Fussy Librarian - https://www.thefussylibrarian.comAdvertising Platforms:* Facebook Ads - https://www.facebook.com/business/ads* Amazon Ads - https://advertising.amazon.com* Amazon Attribution https://advertising.amazon.com/solutions/products/amazon-attribution* Facebook Ads - Both hosts run ongoing campaigns* Amazon Ads - LL testing to reach higher purchase-intent traffic* Amazon Attribution Links - For tracking ad performance* Social Media Platforms:* TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com* Instagram - https://www.instagram.com* Substack - https://substack.comWhat we’re reading/listening to:* Tara: Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (dark, graphic fiction about a 16-year-old and her teacher—thought-provoking, compared to My Dark Vanessa)* LL: Conviction by Denise Mina (to be discussed next week)Coming next: Next week: Are You Ready to Publish Part 2—your Amazon page, metadata, and the stuff that makes people actually click ‘buy’ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit youshouldtotallywritethat.substack.com