Fortunately for writers today there is a thing called social media. Now most people assume that social media is as simple as opening a social media account and watching it grow, but this too takes time and energy. When one of the wonderful women in my critique group suggested to me that it was going to take an additional 20 to 25 hours a week to run my book business, I scoffed. Now as I have dived into this realm of advertising I am realizing how right she actually was.
I think that the main thing I have learned over the years is that you must really take your book business serious. In the same way you wouldn't just open a restaurant and expect people to be drawn to it simply because people are bound to eat sometime, you ought not treat your books this way. If you opened a restaurant you would have a grand opening, send out flyers, post it online, and generally promote yourself and your dream.