I was so excited. At last my book was published! I could see The Relationship Trap in print. I could hold my book in my hand. It was a reality. As a matter of fact, I could see several cartons of books piled next to my front door. As the UPS truck pulled away, I began to wonder...what do I do with all these books? I didn't want to be the author with a garage full of books. Reality hit full force! Now what?
Publishers publish. Publishers do not promote. You do! Except if you're John Grisham or Danielle Steele.
Now, I am a writer, a teacher, an artist. I did not major in marketing in college. I never took a business course. Yet, all of a sudden I had to become a businesswoman. It was now my job to market my book. I had spent so many hours, days, years writing this book.
I interviewed women, taped their stories (with their permission), transcribed the stories... slowly... phrase by phrase, edited their stories keeping their words and taking out the extraneous material, sent the book to several different editors and made recommended changes, paid a photographer for an official photo, hired a book cover designer, paid for the interior design, paid the publisher, paid to warehouse the books, paid the agent a fee for finding the publisher, warehouse, and so on.
I learned about the categories of self-help, psychology, women's issues. I explored the shelves of Barnes & Noble, studying types of books in these categories. I looked to see if there were any books similar to mine...I didn't want to publish something that someone else had already covered. I researched book types, sizes, prices, book covers...front and back...dialog, book publishers, agents and competitors.
My book had to offer something new, something different.
Then there was the editor who I nicknamed "The Queen of Commas". She was recommended by the publisher and I had to pay about $600 for her to put about a dozen commas on each page. That meant if I followed all her recommendations, I would have had to go back and put all of them in myself. More time spent on the book. Actually, I really didn't have to put in all those commas. Most of them weren't needed. (Example: Red, white, and blue. I do not believe a comma is necessary after white. She did. This was just a difference of opinion. She had to earn her fee somehow so there were all those red marks.
So I learned to write, edit, and now, after all that, it was time to learn how to market.
I had to learn fast because a new book gets old fast. So, I took Marketing 101, so to speak. I opened a P.O. box, found an accountant, joined a writers group, and entered a book fair. Phase II has begun.
It's time for MARKETING 101
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