Marketing Your Memoir Before You Finish It

Why Marketing Starts Before “The End”

When you’re deep in the writing process, the last thing you may want to think about is marketing. It can feel premature, rather like putting up posters for a concert before the band has even rehearsed.

But in the world of memoir publishing, that’s exactly what you need to do.

Many first-time authors assume marketing should wait until after the memoir is finished, edited, and published. Yet memoir success rarely happens overnight. It’s built on months, sometimes years, of relationship-building, audience awareness, and platform creation.

So while you’re drafting chapters about your life, you should also be crafting momentum for your memoir’s marketing.

Think of Your Memoir as a Movement, Not a Manuscript

When a memoir connects deeply with readers, it’s often because it represents more than one person’s story. It touches a universal nerve, perhaps landing on the theme of grief, resilience, identity, or transformation.

The earlier you begin connecting with people who resonate with your themes, the stronger your future readership will be.

Pre-launch marketing is about nurturing those connections while you write.

1. Identify Your Core Readers Early

Before you even start building a website or social presence, spend time thinking about exactly who your memoir is for.

Ask yourself:

• Who will most connect with my story’s themes?
• What communities or conversations are these people already part of?
• What emotions or questions might draw them to my memoir?

For instance, if your memoir explores caregiving for a parent with Alzheimer’s, your readers might be adult children navigating similar experiences, healthcare professionals, or grief-support communities. If your story follows your journey through addiction and recovery, you might find natural audiences in recovery networks, wellness circles, and mental health platforms.

The clearer you are about your readers, the more focused and authentic your pre-launch marketing will feel. When you know your audience, you’re not selling to strangers. You’re talking to your people.

2. Build Relationships, Not Just Reach

Marketing isn’t just about visibility or the number of clicks you get. Effective marketing is rooted in genuine connection.

Begin connecting to your readers by joining communities aligned with your memoir’s themes. You can do this both online and offline. Engage with these communities as a participant, not a promoter. Listen to others’ stories carefully, comment with empathy, and contribute meaningfully.

Over time, you can begin weaving in gentle mentions of your memoir-in-progress. For example, you can:

• Offer insights you’ve gained through your experiences (“When I was caring for my father, I learned something surprising about letting go…”).
• Post a short reflection or excerpt that invites conversation (“This passage was hard to write; thinking about what happened made me cry. Has anyone else felt this?”).
• Share milestones in your writing journey (“Chapter 10 is done! I’ve never appreciated coffee more.”).

Each small moment of authenticity builds trust. Later, when your memoir is ready, the people you’ve connected with will become your earliest—and often your best—supporters.

3. Begin Building Your Author Platform

Simply put, an author platform is the network of people who know, like, and trust you enough to buy (and recommend) your book.

You don’t need a massive social following or a polished website to start. You just need a clear sense of who you are as a writer and what your story stands for.

Start Small and Authentic

Create a one-page website or landing page introducing yourself and your memoir’s concept. Include:

• A brief author bio, written in third person
• A one-sentence hook for your memoir, such as “One woman’s journey through the silence of loss to the rediscovery of her own voice.”
• A photo of you that captures your tone, which might be professional yet personal, or perhaps casual and quirky.
• A signup link for updates or a newsletter

Your single-page website doesn’t have to sell your book yet. But it must sell your story’s significance.

Expand Gradually

As your confidence grows, you can:

• Add a blog or short reflections on your writing process.
• Share photos, quotes, or behind-the-scenes insights.
• Link to your social media accounts (choose one or two platforms that feel aligned with you, your theme, and your memoir).

If you prefer a quieter approach, consider Substack or Medium. Both allow you to write essays that build community without the daily demands of social media.

4. Share Strategic Excerpts Before the Memoir Is Finished

You don’t have to wait for your manuscript to be complete or your book to be printed before sharing your words. You can speak out while still writing, on and offline.

Choose short, self-contained excerpts or anecdotes—scenes that evoke emotion, curiosity, or laughter—and publish them as stand-alone posts on your website and social media accounts.

These glimpses into your story act as emotional invitations, helping readers see themselves in your journey.

For example:

• Read an excerpt aloud at a book club, writer’s salon, or local arts event.
• Post a passage on your website with a brief introduction (“This moment changed how I understood forgiveness.”).
• Submit a short essay adapted from your memoir to a magazine or online publication.

Even a small feature in a niche publication can bring early followers to your platform and validate your work as a story worth telling.

5. Develop Early Media and Speaking Opportunities

Don’t wait until your memoir is printed to step into the public eye. Begin offering value now through:

• Local radio or podcast interviews about your life themes.
• Speaking engagements for relevant groups, including universities, nonprofits, and cultural clubs or support circles.
• Guest columns or Q&A articles that showcase your expertise or lived experience.

At this stage, you’re not promoting your memoir. Instead, you’re promoting your story. The goal is to help people know, remember, and trust your name before your memoir appears on the shelf.

6. Connect with Other Writers and Thought Leaders

Writing your memoir is often a solitary activity. But marketing it should be a group effort.

Look for fellow authors whose audiences might overlap with yours. Engage genuinely with their work, comment thoughtfully on their posts, and, when appropriate, reach out and suggest some collaboration. You might:

• Guest on their podcast about storytelling or transformation.
• Write a short guest essay for another writer’s newsletter.
• Co-host a virtual conversation about a shared topic, such as grief, healing, creativity, or reinvention.

Every authentic partnership expands your reach, even while keeping your message personal.

Visibility grows through shared energy, not solitary self-promotion.

7. Create a Content Plan Around Your Memoir’s Themes

Long before your memoir is released, you can start building authority around the core topics in your memoir.

Let’s say your memoir chronicles your journey through burnout to rediscovering purpose. You could:

• Write short, science-backed reflections on the psychology of burnout.
• Share weekly “micro-moments” of recovery or self-care tips.
• Interview others who have gone through similar transformations.

This strategy positions you as more than a storyteller: You become a guide. When your memoir is published, readers will see it as the culmination of your insights, not just as a single narrative.

8. Gather Early Endorsements and Testimonials

Pre-launch is also the perfect time to gather social proof.

If your story touches on specific fields—mental health, art, travel, family dynamics—consider sharing early drafts or excerpts with professionals, mentors, or peers who can later offer blurbs or testimonials.

Early endorsements can come from:

• Experts in your memoir’s domain (e.g., a psychologist, historian, or artist)
• Influencers with overlapping audiences
• Readers from your writing group or beta team who found your story to be powerful.

By gathering early endorsements and testimonials, you’re building a chorus of advocates who can lend credibility and momentum to your eventual launch.

9. Use Email as Your Most Personal Marketing Tool

Social media can offer tremendous reach, but email builds relationships.

To create those relationships, write a simple monthly or bi-monthly newsletter to update readers on your progress. Share a mix of:

• Personal reflections from your writing journey
• Exclusive snippets or behind-the-scenes moments
• Notes of gratitude or lessons learned

These early subscribers become your inner circle. They will be the people most likely to pre-order, leave reviews, and spread the word when your memoir launches.

Keep the tone of your emails conversational and heartfelt. Think of each email as a letter to a trusted friend, not a broadcast.

10. Cultivate Patience and Boundaries

Pre-launch marketing is a long game. It’s easy to become consumed by metrics and follower counts. It’s easy to forget your most essential goal, which is finishing your memoir.

Create a simple schedule: perhaps two hours per week for marketing and the rest for writing. Remember, the goal isn’t to become a full-time marketer. Rather, it’s to ensure that, by the time your memoir is ready, the world is ready for it.

As we often remind our clients, “A book succeeds not only because it’s written well, but because it’s anticipated.”

That anticipation is your reward for starting early.

A Pre-Launch Marketing Checklist for Marketing Your Memoir 

Here’s a condensed roadmap to keep your efforts organized:

Remember: You’re Marketing Yourself, Not Just Your Memoir

Readers buy memoirs because they care about the person behind the story. This means that, at this stage, your most powerful product isn’t your book: it’s you.

By building trust, authenticity, and emotional connection early, you ensure that when your memoir finally arrives, it feels like a long-awaited conversation, not a cold introduction.

Marketing early doesn’t mean rushing or performing. It means letting people walk beside you as your story unfolds. When they finally hold your memoir in their hands, they’ll feel part of its creation.

And that’s the most effective memoir marketing of all.

Note: To learn how to keep your memoir selling after publication, read “How to Keep Your Memoir Alive.”