Last reviewed by the publishing.co.uk team — May 2026
TL;DR: James Mortimer covers marketing, advertising, and audience-building for publishing.co.uk. Launches, ARC strategy, Amazon Ads, newsletter funnels, and the audience side of indie publishing.
Marketing Lead, publishing.co.uk
James covers the part of the indie author journey where books meet readers. His work at publishing.co.uk focuses on launches (ARC strategy, 60-day pre-launch sequences, launch teams), paid promotion (Amazon Ads, BookBub, Freebooksy stacking), audience-building (newsletter strategy, reader magnets, Bookstagram, podcast guesting), and the broader infrastructure indie authors need to convert readers into long-term fans.
James came to indie publishing via digital marketing — a decade of work running paid acquisition for ecommerce and SaaS brands. He pivoted to author marketing in 2022 after consulting on three indie series launches that out-performed their authors' day jobs within 18 months. The pattern was always the same: technical marketing competence applied to a great book produces compounding revenue. Most indie authors were missing the marketing half.
At publishing.co.uk we work with UK indie authors across every stage, so this guide reflects what we've actually seen succeed (and fail) rather than recycled advice.
What James covers
- 60-day pre-launch sequences and launch-day coordination
- Amazon Ads from £10/day to £100/day — the structural changes most authors miss
- BookBub Featured Deal applications, paid promo stacking
- Reader magnets, BookFunnel delivery, MailerLite vs ConvertKit decisions
- Newsletter content strategy that doesn't burn lists
- ARC platforms (StoryOrigin, BookSirens, NetGalley, Hidden Gems)
- Bookstagram, BookTok, podcast guesting for authors
- Building a launch team that delivers reviews in week 1
Style
James writes tactical and specific. Numbers, costs, CTRs, ROI calculations. Where indie author folk-wisdom contradicts the data, he sides with the data.
Get in touch
For marketing questions or guest-post enquiries: hello@publishing.co.uk
