New Open Doors
In the wake of the gigantic emergence of online and digital publishing, many new doors have opened to authors that never before existed. Many authors from past decades (and centuries) would have given anything to live in our day.
No longer do we need to wait months to get an answer from a publisher, just to have to move on to the next publisher and wait a few more months. And if a title was accepted, then it required a wait of many more months before publication date. Now with programs such as Amazon’s Create Space, Book Baby, Smash Words, Lulu and the like, we can see our titles up and going in a matter of weeks. And with e-reader sites it’s a matter of days. It truly is an exciting time for novelists and authors.
It’s Up To Us
However, there is the little matter of marketing. In the bygone days of yore, the author expected the publisher to do all the marketing. (Whether that
perspective was correct or not is beside the point.) Now that’s not even a consideration. In this new era, the marketing is up to us. No marketing means no one can find you in the millions of other books out there. You have to make a mark. You have to have a web presence.
Are there parts that can be hired out? Yes. However, just from my personal experience in the past I have wasted months of time by relying on so-called publicists who weren’t all they purported to be. The fact is, if writing is your calling, if you want to be a known author, if you want to sell books so you can write more books, so you can sell more books, you have no choice but to learn how to market online.
You Can Do This
Plenty of books have been written (and seminars and courses presented) about marketing online. Like it or not, this will be your responsibility. Learn what you can and apply what you can. As you do, you will begin to discover more and more ideas and strategies. It will be a learning curve, but you can do this.
I started with this blog site and grew from there. I use a great deal of social media as well. If you’re ready to get serious about learning how to take charge of your writing career, you might want to check out Guy Kawasaki’s book APE Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. Tons of ideas and tactics are included here. Add it to your library.
My Advice
At this point, I’m certainly no marketing expert, but I’m much further down the road than I was say, three or four years ago. My words of advice when it comes to marketing :
- Don’t hesitate – jump in NOW. Don’t let fear stop you.
- Don’t get discouraged. It’s a big new world out there; but you don’t need the whole pie – you just need a piece of the pie which is your own select audience.
- Learn from the best. Find out what’s going on out there. Don’t just rely on the word of other authors (although they may have some great tips). Learn about online marketing from genuine online marketers.
- Be patient. It takes time to build up your following. Keep in mind how much time would have been required in the old days to do a ten-city tour. And how exhausting. Now you can have an online blog tour and never leave the house!
I happened to have had the questionable privilege of being published by what used to be known as legitimate publishers. I know the hassle and the waiting games, and the complete loss of control. I would prefer never to go back.
Are those established publishing houses still going? Yes. Are they still needed? Of course. Do I need them? Not so much…
It’s a new day for novelists and authors. Embrace it with all its good points and all it’s challenging points. Enjoy this new-found freedom! I know I am!
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In the six-month writing course that I call the Be A Novelist, Six-Month, Finish-My-Novel Challenge we talk a great deal about what might stand in the way of your novel creation! It will be like looking into a mirror as you see yourself more clearly. This course offers six full months of guidance and instruction. Guaranteed to light a fire under your novel-writing attempts and to launch you into a pattern of consistent writing! Details right here!
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