Get Over It and Develop a Marketing Plan Already
Apparently, spending years writing the book is not the hardest part. Being a writer isn’t just about writing. I’m reading Publish Your Book: Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author by Patricia Fry to get a better handle on what it takes to publish a book. She’s constantly saying no matter what route you go, you have to do all your own marketing. The success of your book depends on it. I’ve been reading this advice a lot but was kind of denying it.
I mean, I grew up with the image of writers focusing on their work while the publisher handled all the marketing- telling the author to be here at this time. It’s been difficult to scrap that image. Being an writer should be about producing good content. Not anymore. If you want to be a published author you need to promote your book and there’s little you can do to get around it.
You can complain about it, whine about how unfair it is or flat out deny it (I know I did and still do) but it’s not gonna change the truth. You need to be intimate with both the publishing industry and marketing. Some of you may have checked this about but, I created a Publishing Industry Research Guide. You may find it helpful. The link is also on the left.
Funny thing is, the thought of marketing fills the over-thinking side of me with dread but, the adventurer in me is really looking forward to it.
With this in mind, I attended a free workshop at SIBL (Science, Industry and Business Library) called Developing Your Marketing Plan. It was more for small businesses but much of what the speaker said could be applied to marketing your book.
Î I always saw marketing as promoting your work but I learned yesterday that promotion is only part of the mix. Marketing encompasses Product, Price, Place and Promotion. It makes complete sense, now, that the price of the book and how you’re going to deliver it to the consumer should be included in your marketing plan.
Î And, I’m a sucker for some good resources. Thanks to that lovely little Social Network called Twitter along with Google Reader, staying up-to-date with some of these resources is fairly easy.
- American Marketing Association– Everything has an association.
- The News and Resources section of the Direct Marketing Association‘s website has some pretty interesting articles.
- Entrepreneur.com speaks for itself
- Then there’s Knowthis.com’s free Marketing Tutorials
Drowning yet? I’ve had my moments where I wished I didn’t want a career as a writer. I panicked when I picked up books on getting published and realized all the stuff I still didn’t know. I’m trying to figure out how people do this and have a full-time job. (I’m thinking they don’t sleep much.) The key is to just do it and not think too much about what you have to do.
Yep, just do it and make it fun. Its all an adventure anyway!
Marketing is tough. I'd love to just write all the time, and I admit I don't spend enough time marketing myself as a writer. I fall prey to just wanting to write. It's something I have to learn to do better in 11 months before my book comes out.
I would also like to spend all my time just writing, but then no one would know about my writing if I didn't spend time on marketing!
Writing itself can be so consuming- we just get lost in it. I'd love to focus entirely on my stories but, as Rena put it, no one would know they exist if I didn't tell people. Don't we write because we have something we want to share with the world;)