I spent part of last Thanksgiving weekend (2016), writing a comprehensive marketing plan for the BryonySeries, to which I've added (and even subtracted) a few ideas.
I have also spent a good portion of this past year studying this elusive thing called marketing, especially marketing for authors and their books.
I wasn't completely clueless. I'd written some marketing plans for the series in the past and had some experiential ideas on what did and did not work and where I did and did not want to go as I fielded my options.
Let's face it. Marketing books today is hard. Reading is down, titles are up, people are spam-suspicious, fake news and slush abounds, and the hot-new marketing trend of today quickly becomes the tired glutted gimmick of yesterday.
How does a guppy author make a noise in a deep ocean of big fish?
I'm still working on that answer.
But I've learned a few things along the way: some basic SEO. Branding. Ways to expand the reach without acting pushy. How marketing is different from sales and different from advertising (while being part of the same pie). Why free is too cheap. What does, does not (and what might) work in collaboration. How to write a better and more effective marketing plan.
I'll expand on these thoughts in the coming weeks.
I already knew writing comes with no guarantees,and I already knew I picked the most difficult type of books to write and self-publish: literary fiction.
However...
Quitting ensures you don't reach the finish line.
Writing, whether the writer publishes in a traditional arena or a self-published one, is an extremely long-tailed business. Perfecting the craft and persistence helps to win the race.
I have also spent a good portion of this past year studying this elusive thing called marketing, especially marketing for authors and their books.
I wasn't completely clueless. I'd written some marketing plans for the series in the past and had some experiential ideas on what did and did not work and where I did and did not want to go as I fielded my options.
Let's face it. Marketing books today is hard. Reading is down, titles are up, people are spam-suspicious, fake news and slush abounds, and the hot-new marketing trend of today quickly becomes the tired glutted gimmick of yesterday.
How does a guppy author make a noise in a deep ocean of big fish?
I'm still working on that answer.
But I've learned a few things along the way: some basic SEO. Branding. Ways to expand the reach without acting pushy. How marketing is different from sales and different from advertising (while being part of the same pie). Why free is too cheap. What does, does not (and what might) work in collaboration. How to write a better and more effective marketing plan.
I'll expand on these thoughts in the coming weeks.
I already knew writing comes with no guarantees,and I already knew I picked the most difficult type of books to write and self-publish: literary fiction.
However...
Quitting ensures you don't reach the finish line.
Writing, whether the writer publishes in a traditional arena or a self-published one, is an extremely long-tailed business. Perfecting the craft and persistence helps to win the race.
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