I’ve been self-publishing since 2015. I have this channel that I started in 2018. I have over a dozen books out under my M.K. Williams Pen Name. This channel has over 31,000 subscribers. I have an agent. I have a book deal. And let me tell you:

I still don’t have the magic key or cure to book marketing.

No one does. Each book is different, as is our audience. And sometimes it hits, and sometimes it doesn’t. So today I’ve asked my fellow 2026 Debut authors to help you and me and share their biggest marketing wins for their books.

Book marketing is more art than science. Even when we find something that works for a bit, it changes because of algorithms or audience shifts. We’re all chasing an ever-moving target. So we connect with other authors, we learn from their trial and error, we do something new, and we cross our fingers.

Here are some of the biggest marketing wins for the 2026 Debut Class of authors:

Ainkaran Sivaaji, The Fire Walker https://ainkaran.substack.com/

Gwenyth Reitz, You’re Dead to Me, Reed Walker: https://www.gwenreitz.com/newsletter

Arwyn Sherman, We The Missing: http://www.arwynsherman.com

Mona Tewari, Burn The Sea: https://monatewari.com/

Celeste Dador, Stars, Stripes, and Summer Nights: https://linktr.ee/celestedador

Kate Williams, Fake Out Make Out https://lnk.to/FakeOutMakeOut

A big thank you to Ainkaran, Gwenyth, Arwyn, Mona, and Celeste for sending in your tips for fellow authors. I have links below so you can check out their debut books as well as the 2026Debuts website, so you can support all the amazing authors with books releasing this year.

2026

This is the last class notes video, but I will continue to share and answer questions about my traditional publishing experience. And as always, comment below with your questions. They fuel future videos.