I have a new found respect for modern day writers. Ok, I’m playing it way too cool here. Truth: I regard them as the superheroes of our time.
What made me think that completing a manuscript was the hardest part? Where in the wide world of sports did my mind spin out a belief like that? Future authors listen up; marketing is a BIG part of the author-experience.
If you are uncomfortable with having your own blog, or break out in hives just thinking about sharing what you had for lunch over Facebook and Twitter, you’re in trouble.
Some people are gifted social marketers. People like my agent, Rachelle Gardner, or Thomas Nelson CEO, Michael Hyatt, they can blog like the best of them and even create intelligible, thought-provoking prose in 140 characters or less.
Then there’s the almost-author, like me. If you desire to cut your publication-teeth on a nonfiction book, get ready to hear LOTS about platform, brand, and social marketing.
This means yours truly is seriously thinking about creating a new blog for busy moms. Which translates into trying to find a WordPress designer. Fun. Add that on my list of to-do’s. Great.
No publishing house Christian or secular, is going to set aside a fat publicity bankroll for a new author, unless your name is Lucado or rhymes with farbashion.
I have about four months before my book is published. This means I’m working hard on figuring out what bookstores I need to contact, which conferences I should attend. (She Speaks & MOPS Intl. are in my cross-hairs for this summer.) and which mom-bloggers I need to contact for book reviews. Yeah, there’s lots to do.
So, what have I been up to lately? I’m earning an online degree in grassroots author marketing. Keep your eyes open, you may just see me pulling a red wagon full of my books around your neighborhood this summer!
For anyone interested in brushing up on author-marketing before their book contract, read these books: Get Known Before Your Book Deal, Guerrilla Marketing For Writers and Publicize Your Book.
Happy Reading!
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