Discoverability

The Big Green finally arrived in UK shops in January 2026. It launches in US shops in March. The story about this book has just begun.

We have been careful and attentive to how the book is portrayed, and hopefully, this will make it more discoverable. There are so many new titles released each year that the biggest challenge to their success is whether or not readers know they exist.

This post is about ‘discoverability’. If you’re a creator, what can you do to help your book be discovered? It turns out you can do a lot. Most publishers will have a standard marketing plan they will share with an author and illustrator. Sometimes the marketing budget is large (we’d all love a big budget), so the plan is fuller, but mostly the budgets are modest and contain a list of basic activities to draw attention to the new book. Discoverability is not marketing. It’s the stuff that leads to marketing. All the thinking about what the book is, why it exists, and who the chosen audience is can help inform a marketing and sales plan, and the creators are the best people to feed into this conversation. For The Big Green, I thought long and hard about what the book should do, what it can’t possibly do, and why I made it in the first place and realized that there was a part of the audience I could reach more effectively than the publisher.

I also practiced my words about how the book was made until they sounded short, sharp, and conversational, whether on social media or in conversation. Some of it is outside my comfort zone, but that’s an opportunity to do something new, like a podcast interview with Bex on the Fun Kids Radio. Being prepared meant that I said pretty much all I wanted to, and it felt great.

Bex sits down with new Children's Laureate, Patrice Lawrence!✒️👑 – Fun Kids Book Quest

Mythical Monsters & Laureate Legends: Changing the Story! 🐍🎭 | BookQuest In this episode of BookQuest, we’re rewriting the rulebook on legendary tales and meeting the big voices shaping the future of stories! Whether you’re getting the hilarious, untold side of a snake-haired villain or hanging out with the nation's top champion for young readers, we're celebrating what happens when you look at storytelling from a whole new perspective. On the Shelf This Week: Bethany Walker joins the show to put a fresh, funny spin on Greek mythology. She’s giving the iconic story of Medusa a complete makeover—packed with plenty of humor, high-stakes adventure, and a brand-new perspective on the ancient legend. Bex travels to the Barbican Centre for a special sit-down interview with the newly appointed Children's Laureate, Patrice Lawrence. Discover her exciting vision for young readers across the country, why stories belong to everyone, and what inspires her incredible books. Join Fun Kids Podcasts+: https://funkidslive.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Bex sits down with new Children's Laureate, Patrice Lawrence!✒️👑 11:59
2. Pet Survival Quests & Ancient Egypt Secrets: Surviving the Unknown! 🐾 20:33
3. Andy Stanton & Cecelia Ahern: Laugh-Out-Loud Fiction & Clever Clues 📚✨ 21:28
4. The Week Junior Book Awards: Alien Invasions & Extraordinary Brains👽🧠 22:21
5. Incredible Science & Magical Secrets: Discovering What’s Inside You 🧠🔮 20:27

You can listen to Bex on Fun Kids (weekdays from 4pm) on DAB Digital Radio across the UK, on the free Fun Kids app, and online at funkidslive.com

Assume that discoverability will take time and start your flag waving early, like up to six months before publication. Be available and discoverable yourself so that the book can have a better chance of succeeding. Talk to your publishing marketers, or try to understand book marketing more if you’re self publishing, because you are the stage when your lovely idea has become a product that now needs to perform. Your knowledge about it is valuable.

If you’re in the UK The Big Green is available from online stores.