Marketing For Writers

Okay, shake your head. It's okay. I know a lot of new authors are overwhelmed by all the prospects for marketing, and various ways to use them, and that's normal, and perfectly understandable. You see, it starts out slow.

Pre-publication:

You barely even think about marketing. You see ads and promos on line from other authors and react basically the way the 'normal' viewing public as readers do. Either you like it, or you don't. It effects you in the same manner... with just a little bit of sub-conscious memory compiling how that possibly might be of use to you and storing it way back in some dusty rarely used file in your memory for future use--if you can ever find it when you want it at that time, because this memory file is seriously crammed in the vast recesses of some memory black hole that you think you can find, but really never will again when you want it.

First book:

You know vaguely that you'll have to do some promotion. You've seen others doing things, and think it's cool, but wow, you could never do some of that stuff. This is the OMG this is too overwhelming stage. Now you start to remember all the things you've seen in the past as a reader, and struggling writer... yep, here's where you try to find that damned file you've shoved in the black-hole of your memory. Good luck finding that.

Still, you know you DID have it once, so now you set out to figure these things out again. At this point it's still pretty slow. Now mind you, I'm writing this from MY perspective to a certain degree, and back when I had my first novel published Internet marketing was WAY less complicated, and WAY less abundant. It's quite likely that you, starting where you're at now if this is your first novel have a much greater degree of savvy in these regards as those of us that started out even five or six years ago with our first pubbed works.

Even so, you'll do what's considered the 'normal' things here. Blogging, website, groups etc... Some of the more complicated things will most likely be a bit beyond your mental ability to cope with all of the changes. Unless, of course, you are just that talented, and I know there are a few of you who are.

Second book and on: This is a fun time. You are much more settled in and comfortable with your abilities and budding career, and have quite a bit of the basic marketing knowledge so ingrained now that you no longer have to bother with that stupid file you can never find. Now it's second nature and permanently etched in some auto-response part of your brain.

Now you begin to find an entirely new world opening up. Neat, creative tricks. Fantastic new ways to promote. Since you're more secure in other areas of your craft, you now are more likely to have the mental ability to absorb more of the possibilities than you had before and you are off and running.

There is no finish line though.

Ooops, did I neglect to tell you that at first? You never stop finding new things. You never stop getting excited over being able to create something fun... at least God I hope you never do. How boring would life be if it suddenly held no new challenges, or surprises?

Godspeed on your journey as a writer, and here's to many more challenges and surprises on the path ahead.