I never imagined I’d get involved in marketing, ever. All manner of sales work horrifies me. Yet, I now devote at least an hour each day either actively marketing, or thinking of ways to actively market, my book. Adrift in a sea of blogger and social media websites, how do I separate the truly effective actors from the sites that promise astounding results but, in the end, pocket my money without following through?
Happily, I’ve found a couple of resources that work for me, two marketing books that offer sound advice and help me tune out the excess noise: An Author’s Guide to Children’s Book Promotion by Susan Salzman Raab, and How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn. They have quickly become my “go-to” resources.
It’s reassuring to have someplace to turn to for guidance so I don’t lose precious writing time. Even traditionally published authors bear some of the burden of promoting their books these days. Now that I have a clearer path to follow, I find that I enjoy marketing a little bit, maybe because I deeply believe in my book, my love letter to our dear canine family member who passed away five years ago. Reliving his silly sense of adventure softens the loss. Which reminds me of another story idea: The Dog Who Jumped Into the Compost Pile and Couldn’t Get Back Out.
That’s great that you found a couple of books to guide you. Marketing can be a lot of work so finding sources that make it easier is wonderful.