Reading · Ines Johnson is having a Breakdown

Ya’ll know I like low effort. I save all my big energy for the bonkers stuff I write in my book. And then —inevitably— it comes time to promote my books. One of my favorite things to film during a new release is a flat lay.

If you’ve never heard the term before, a flat lay is simply a photo or video taken from directly overhead. Your book is laid flat on a table and surrounded by props that match the mood, colors, and genre of the story.

They’re beautiful. They’re inexpensive. And they’re one of the easiest ways to create eye-catching content for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and even your Shopify store.

Here’s my process.

I head to Michael’s Craft Store!!!!! It’s my favorite place. I sometimes go in there not needing anything and spend an hour looking at everything… even though nothing new is available.

But when I’m looking for flat lay items, I’m looking for items that match the vibe of the cover.

Things like:

Silk flowers
Ribbon
Fabric
Candles
Faux greenery
Wooden hearts
Moss
Decorative stones
Mini pumpkins or Christmas ornaments (if it’s seasonal)
Little knickknacks that fit the story… go into the doll house aisle, I dare you! It’s where I found the little bed so I could use the trope “there’s only one bed!”

The goal isn’t to recreate the story. The goal is to make someone stop scrolling because the image is beautiful.

There’s no single “right” way to build one, but here some suggestions.

Put the book in the center and arrange props around all four sides like a picture frame.
Place the book at a slight angle and let flowers or ribbon trail across opposite corners. This creates movement and feels less rigid.
Keep the book off-center and build a little “scene” in one corner with candles, flowers, or props.
Stack several books from the same series with decorative items scattered around them.
Include a mug, blanket, reading glasses, and maybe a candle so it feels like someone is about to curl up with the book.

Once everything is arranged, I simply film several 10-second videos.

That’s it.

I slowly move the camera across the flat lay.

I zoom in on the cover.

I pan from left to right.

I move closer to the flowers or props.

Nothing fancy.

One setup can easily give me several weeks of content.

I bring the videos into Canva (you could also use Capcut or Adobe Premiere) and add different text depending on the post.

Some ideas:

Favorite quotes
Tropes
Taglines
Short excerpts
Review quotes
The blurb
Release date
“Now Available”
“Read in Kindle Unlimited”
“Book One in the Series”

The beauty is that one video becomes twenty different posts just by changing the words.

The video gets people to stop. The caption tells social media who should see it.

Instead of writing: Here’s my new book! Think about what your ideal reader is searching for. Include keywords naturally throughout your caption.

For example:

paranormal romance
romantasy
cozy fantasy
small-town romance
military romance
second chance romance
enemies to lovers
fake dating
marriage of convenience
fated mates
dragon romance
wolf shifter romance
morally gray hero
villain heroine
happily ever after
spicy romance
no spice romance

Don’t just list keywords. Write captions your readers would actually enjoy reading while naturally weaving those phrases into your description.

If your ideal reader is searching for “dragon romance with fated mates,” give the algorithm every reason to connect your content with that reader.

The flat lay catches their eye.

The caption tells the algorithm who to send it to.

Together, they become one of my favorite low-effort marketing tools for both new releases and backlist books.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go wander Michael’s and convince myself that yes, I absolutely need another bundle of silk flowers.

Flat Lays: My Favorite Low-Effort Marketing for New Releases

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