Complete the Author Questionnaire
When your book begins the copyediting and design stage (approximately 9–10 months before your book’s publication date), you will receive an author questionnaire to complete for the Sales and Marketing Department. Please take time to complete the questionnaire as thoroughly as possible with detailed, specific information. Your input in the author questionnaire will inform many different aspects of our marketing and publicity efforts, including metadata, marketing copy, blurbs, reviews, author interviews, awards, events, social media, and sales outreach.
Create Email Lists
Start collecting email addresses now! A few months before your book’s publication date, we’ll be sending you an email containing a “friends and family” discount for you to share with individuals who may be interested in purchasing the book. There will also be opportunities to share materials with your contacts through listservs, alumni associations, professional organizations, and other groups that you belong to.
Talks & Signings
The Press encourages authors of general interest titles to participate in book signings, speaking engagements, and other appearances that help promote the book. We advise authors to schedule events on or after their book’s publication date. If your book is an academic monograph or an edited volume priced for the library market (usually $55.00 and up), we strongly advise waiting until your book is available in paperback before scheduling any bookstore events.
Should you schedule any book signings or speaking engagements, we require a minimum of 4 weeks’ advance notice to add it to our author calendar, promote it on social media, and check in regarding book sales.
Please complete our Submit Your Event form.
Authors planning to participate in conferences or events where books will not be sold on site should reach out to the Press 4 weeks in advance so that we can create a discount flyer for you to distribute. Please note: If the hosting organization will be selling copies of your book, it is generally considered bad form to undercut their sales with a discount flyer.
Join Online Listservs
Many learned societies and organizations have listservs for members. H-Net also offers listservs for a multitude of academic disciplines. Postings must be made by members, and publisher postings are seldom allowed. We encourage you to post information about your book to these forums.
Social Media
Follow the Press on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads. Tag us @floridapress when you post about your book! Below are just a few tips for authors on these platforms:
- Facebook. We advise against setting up a Facebook account for one specific book as that can create problems down the road when you publish additional books. Maintaining a different account for each book can divide your audience and make it difficult for you to keep up with all your followers. We suggest authors make an author account or use their current Facebook account to promote this book and any future books.
- Bluesky and Threads. Follow influencers in your field, share relevant posts from these influencers, and post regularly about news, trends, and other connections to your book topics and topics that matter to you.
- Instagram. Post photos and videos of your book. Consider creating a 30-second video with an “elevator pitch” for your book that can be used as a reel.
Set up Author Pages
Write Op-Eds
Keep track of current events for op-ed opportunities. Breaking news events and trending news stories will be the best occasions for submitting op-eds—which must often be prepared and pitched within a day of such news trends. If you have an idea for an op-ed based on a news story, please don’t hesitate to write a piece and submit it. Below are a few places that publish op-eds:
Remember: You are an expert in your field, not just the author of a book. An op-ed should translate that fact rather than prompting readers to refer to your book. Avoid phrases such as, “In my book, I talk about X.” Express your clear point of view in a complete article. Stick to the point, be opinionated, avoid jargon, and remember newspapers use short sentences and paragraphs. Include your book in your byline. This will be the only prompt needed for readers to seek it out.