We got a good question recently about SEO specifically for books and authors, which is honestly a pretty niche topic but an important one if this applies to you.
First things first, if your writing a book right now, please dont write it with AI. Actually write something people genuinely want to read, because if you convince someone to buy it and then it sucks, that’s not a sustainable business model no matter what industry your in.
Now for the actual SEO part. Heres something alot of authors dont realize, the actual content or plot of your book is pretty irrelevant when it comes to ranking. Like if your writing a teen vampire romance novel, you dont need to optimize your website around the specific plot points of your story, you need to optimize around what your AUDIENCE is actually searching for, which in this case would be something like “teenage vampire romance novel” not the specific character names or plot details.
Basic seo stuff still applies, you can write blogs, share updates from the author, that kind of thing to build some buzz and engagement. But heres the honest truth, and we mean this as genuine advice not just to sound negative, SEO is probably not going to be your main sales driver as an author.
People generally arent googling to discover new books to read. There going to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the library, Goodreads, and various book forums and communities. Thats where discovery actually happens for most readers. On our own book sales, we maybe sell a couple copies a month through Google, compared to way higher numbers everywhere else combined.
So have a website, have a Google business profile, do the basics so your findable, but dont pour all your marketing budget into SEO expecting it to be your main sales channel, because it probably wont be.
As for literary agents, our honest opinion, you probably dont need one anymore, especially with how strong indie publishing has become. Agents used to be essential, but now if your book doesnt perform amazing, they’ll often just move on to the next client. Publishers operate the same way, they’re not sentimental, its a business, and if word gets around your last book didnt sell, doors start closing fast. Indie publishing gives you way more control and honestly can be more profitable in alot of cases now.
