How I got published: Mark Ellis
We all know it is no easy thing to get a book published. I started writing some twenty years ago and struggled for several years to get published as many do. Eventually I decided to self-publish my first book. Then I was picked up by a small publisher. Eventually I ended up with Headline, an imprint of Hachette, which is where I am now.
Getting published, of course, is not as some might think, the end of the story. Then you have to get your books sold! As I’m sure many of you know, unless you’re a big bestselling author, you won’t necessarily get much help in this quarter from your publisher. As someone who’s been in the book game for quite a long time, I thought it might be of some interest to set out the methods I use to promote my books. I know that some authors take a relaxed attitude to book promotion. I do not.
Bookshop/Library Events
I usually do about 6 or 7of these a year, a few more if I have a new book out. Sometimes it’s just a book-signing but more often than not a talk is involved. Generally this is a cheap way of promoting books. You might have travel expenses, but sometimes these are paid for. Last year’s events of this kind for me included two in my hometown Swansea, one at Waterstones, and one at a very lively book club in Llangyfelach. I also did a talk and signing at Hillingdon Libraries in London which has a great book event programme, and which I highly recommend.
Book Festivals
Festivals are well worth doing, though obviously there is a cost attached. I have done my fair share, including appearances in person or virtually at our very own Crime Cymru Festival. My favourite English festival over the years has been CrimeFest Bristol, which I’ve attended 5 or 6 times. Sadly it appears that CrimeFest 2025 will have been the last. There was talk of new organisers stepping in but that seems to have come to nought. Happily new festivals are appearing all the time. The Bloody Barnes Crime Festival is one I went to. Its inaugural event was held in February this year in south west London and was a great success. I shall be going again.
I have also tested the festival waters in the US. My friend John Lawton, bestselling author of the Inspector Troy WW2 detective series, advised me a couple of years ago that I should make a greater effort in the US market, where he thought my books would go down well. Accordingly, on his recommendation, I attended the US Bouchercon Festival, which claims to be the biggest mystery writing convention in the world. It is held in a different city every year and I’ve now been to two. In 2024 the event was in Nashville, and last year’s was in New Orleans. I was invited to participate in 4 panels at each event, found everyone very friendly and welcoming, and met a lot of great crime authors – on one occasion I found myself having a drink with Harlan Coben and Dennis Lehane! This year, however, I’ve decided to give Bouchercon in Calgary a miss in favour of ThrillerFest in New York. I should say that my US sales have definitely improved since I started visiting. It is of course not cheap to visit the US, but both times I went, through careful advance planning, the expense was much less than I originally expected.
Magazines/Podcasts
A host of new book–related online magazines have opened in recent years. I have become involved with several, the most prominent of which are Aspects of History and Aspects of Crime. For a relatively low subscription fee, they offer authors the opportunity to have profile pages on their sites and many other promotional opportunities. As well as reviewing all my books they have offered me the opportunity to review other people’s books and to appear on podcasts. For Aspects of History, I recorded a 3 part podcast series on true crime in WW2, which they also turned into a short book. Aspects of Crime Magazine, which is edited by Paul Burke, a great supporter of Crime Cymru, has recruited me to do a regular crime podcast with my author friend Jane Thynne. I would heartily recommend writers of historical fiction/crime fiction to subscribe. Most of my podcasts have been to do with WW2 crime, but one history podcaster for some reason asked me to speak about George III. This required a good deal of mugging up!
Social Media
I am very active on social media, as some of you will know. I try to post something related to my books every day but also post on other generally cultural subjects which might help attract people to my sites. As regards my promotional posts, with the benefit of AI and various other creative apps, I have learned how to put together what I hope are arresting little reels about my books or WW2 history. The important thing on social media, I have learned, is to post quality content regularly. It is of course difficult to calculate how successful all this activity it is, but it is certainly extending knowledge of my books. In the past week, one of my Instagram posts received over 2.5 million views.
So in conclusion there are plenty of things you can do to try and sell your books but please don’t forget to allow yourselves a little time for writing!
Mark Ellis is the author of the 6 book Frank Merlin WW2 London detective series. His latest, Death Of An Officer, won an award for Best Crime Fiction Novel of 2025 at the recent Bloody Barnes Crime Festival. He is also the author of Boom Time, a history of true crime in London. Last year he was a judge for the Historical Writers Association Gold Crown.