thepublishingtimes.comEditorial

The Publishing Times

All the News That’s Fit to Publish

book-marketing · Guides

BooksGoSocial and Dale L. Roberts Open a Holiday Book Makeover Challenge

One author will get a free marketing overhaul and a managed campaign, documented as a public case study. Applications close October 1.

The Publishing Times Editorial Desk · September 29, 2026 · 2 min read

BooksGoSocial and Dale L. Roberts Open a Holiday Book Makeover Challenge

Want a free marketing overhaul for one of your books before the holidays? Book promotion service BooksGoSocial and self-publishing educator Dale L. Roberts are taking applications for a Holiday Season Makeover Challenge, and entries close on October 1, 2026.

What the winner gets

Roberts announced the challenge in his Self-Publishing News for September 24. He wrote that one author will be chosen for "a complete marketing overhaul." The team will look at the cover, book description, pricing and overall Amazon presentation and make improvements where needed. BooksGoSocial will then manage a promotional campaign.

Roberts wrote that there is no fee to apply and no purchase necessary, and that the selected author won't be asked to pay for any of the services involved. He plans to share the process and results as a case study on his main YouTube channel. The episode notes for the same edition list the challenge as a joint BooksGoSocial and Self-Publishing with Dale project.

What the application asks

The application form asks for your genre, a link to the book on Amazon.com, how many reader reviews it has, your most recent Amazon or Facebook ad results, and whether the book is in Kindle Unlimited. It also asks whether you are willing to change the ebook price, cover and description if the changes are prepared for you, and whether you will give feedback during the campaign. A short video appearance or testimonial is optional.

One condition matters before you apply. The form says that, if selected, the author agrees to have the book, author name or pen name, and campaign results featured publicly as part of a Self-Publishing with Dale case study.

Why it matters for authors

A free managed campaign is useful on its own. The public case study could also be useful to authors who are not picked, because it should show what a paid promotion service changes and what results it gets. If you apply, be comfortable with your numbers being published. The deadline is Thursday, October 1.

Sources