Writing Vs. Marketing

As a child, my goal in life was to become a published author. Once I achieved that goal in early 2009 when my first novel, Sharene Death: A Prerequisite for Life was published, I realized something was missing.

For I then discovered my aspirations for my craft didn’t end there, but that I wanted people to buy and read Sharene and subsequent books I’ve written, published, and plan to publish; including An Isle of Fancy (2010) and Treat Softly, which should be released soon.

Marketing lessons I’ve learned include:

1) Writing an excellent book is not enough. Sharene won a Readers View 2010 award in their Spirituality/Inspiration category, but is not well read.

2) With so much competition for bookstore space, few writers beyond publishing company promoted authors John Grisham and Dan Brown are guaranteed in advance that new books will sell.

3) There are many Internet companies with great sounding names lined up to take one’s money with a promise to sell books for them. Be leery, as I learned the hard way.

4) An excellent resource to check the validity of many in the editing, publishing, and books promotions arena is the Web site preditorsandeditors.com.

5) For me, throwing a bunch of money into a pot so others will do the marketing for me hasn’t worked. Sales are far more important to me than to marketing “experts.”

6) Be patient, and don’t be afraid to launch slowly, even cautiously into the marketing arena where finding an honest, affordably ally might be a laborious task.

7) Take extensive notes, including contact information (preferably electronically,) about anyone who buys your book. Hopefully an ever-growing list, this should provide you with a core list of supporters when your next book is released.