The term “write to market”, which was originally coined by Chris Fox in his book of the same name, is a pretty common term in the author world.
Simply put, it means to write a book that hits genre tropes and reader expectations to make sure the readers of that genre enjoy your book.
But what does it mean to promote to market?
I’ve also heard the terms “cover to market” or “market to market”.
What does that mean?
Well, it really means that you need to make sure that not just the content of your book – the prose, characters, and plots – but the marketing must also fit with your genre.
So the covers, the form of the book descriptions, even the form of the title and the subtitle, must, must, must fit with your genre.
It’s no time to be reinventing the wheel, to try to be hyper, hyper creative.
You need to make sure every single piece of marketing related to your book connects with your genre.
I think that this is a hard thing for people, especially if marketing has been elusive for them.
I recommend looking at what authors of other books in your genre are doing with their ads, blurbs, covers, and titles, and brainstorm what you could do in your marketing that evokes the same ideas.
And then publish by promoting to market.