Introverted first-time author here. I finally published my debut novel and don’t know how to market it
Hi everyone,
I’m a first-time self-published author and honestly pretty overwhelmed right now.
I recently published my debut novel, The Deccan Harvest, after spending years writing it alongside my PhD research in petroleum engineering. Balancing research, deadlines, life, and writing fiction was exhausting, but I somehow kept returning to this story until it became a full book.
The novel is a dark crime thriller set in India.
It follows Arjun, a soldier traveling by train to his next military posting. He never reaches his destination.
He wakes up inside a freezing chamber with no memory of how he got there, and what begins as survival slowly unravels into something much darker: a trafficking network hidden behind ordinary systems and lawful fronts.
I’m extremely introverted and not naturally good at social media or marketing, so publishing the book itself already feels like climbing a mountain.
I’m posting here because I wanted to ask fellow indie authors:
What actually helped you get your first genuine readers and reviews?
I’m not looking for shortcuts or fake hype. Just trying to learn how to get the book in front of people who genuinely enjoy thrillers.
Amazon link (if anyone is curious):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H6LXN9LF
Thanks for reading.