Marketing in the Author World

Where do I start? I know we've discussed this mountain more times than I care to count and still it remains the Everest for most of us to tackle. An important and necssary component to our writing career, marketing is our twins in the terrible two's. I find for me, there's no happy medium. It's either a complete success or a rocket exploding, mega burst of failure. And yet, we must be diligent and creative and keep going.

What's worse, in today's society, most of our promo is on social media platforms. I'm an in person kind of girl. As an empath, I read people and gauge how to approach, respond and yes, walk away when necessary. For me, the beast of social media is one I've yet to slay. It's as if my brain goes numb when trying to concoct the winning combination that will get readers to notice my books. My Everest is steep, treacherous, and I never quite reach the summit.

 I did have a little schooling a few weeks ago, and it helped. Maybe not is sales yet, but it certainly expanded my interaction and followers on Instagram. The lovely Jessica, from the marketing department of my publisher Parliament House, intervened and gave me a few suggestions. They worked. She is a brilliant and kind person who helped this lost writer find a sliver of light. The funny part was, they weren't difficult, they just eluded me. Undertstanding the digital world has always been a challenge for me and her guidiance made it a bit clearer.

What's the point of this rambling you ask? It's simple, if you're an author without King status and your frustrated and clawing your way to the next good marketing scheme, don't get discouraged, you're not alone. Help is out there and in this career we've chosen, patience is a virtue we need a double helping of.

So if you find a successful combo, share it with other authors. If you see a successful marketing idea, ask how it works and apply it to your own brand. As authors we can be our best and loudest voice to help each other be successful and achieve our goals. Remember, as I've said many times, there's a reader for everyone and we should be in harmony, not competition.

On Saturday, me and a few of  my friends will be conducting a workshop and sharing what we've learned about the marketing world. It's free, we'll have treats and refreshments, so please join us at the Paseo Verde Library this Saturday Dec. 7th, 280 S. Green Valley Pkwy in Green Valley from 1 - 4 p.m. We'll discuss various stragedies, what's worked for us and what hasn't, and how you can apply this to your brand.
Hope to see you there!