To Market, To Market

/ roughwighting

marketing, books, publishing, e-publishingOh boy, is this hard. I’ll just share with you right now that I am not comfortable writing this post. Okay, here I go, here I go….

I’m almost ready to publish my book, The Right Wrong Man.

The genre? Romantic suspense. But who likes labels? The book is a fun page turner, spell-binding, sexy, with a main character who is flawed (after all, aren’t we all?) and funny at times, clueless at others, and interesting enough that you (the reader) will want to follow her down her own little rabbit hole and see the horrible mess she’s in.

Well, there, that wasn’t so difficult to publicize (also known as hype, tout, flaunt, plug, oh my gosh so many words under “to market”).

I’m a writer, not a promoter. (That’s sort of like saying “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”)  I like the idea of taking the high road (you know, I just love the creative process, not the hard-as-nails side of advertising and marketing).

writing process, writing, publishing, marketing, all-terrain highway

The all-terrain highway of writing.

But writing now is an all-terrain highway. The ups, the downs, the writing, the selling.

So I’m proud to shout out I’VE WRITTEN A GOOD BOOK! I love Meredith, my main character. I’m fascinated by the right wrong men in her life, Gregory and Parker.  (Or are they the wrong right men?)

Either way, I’ve written the book and edited it and drafted it 2 or 20 or 33 times. My novel has been read and edited and reviewed and critiqued by men and women who all exclaim, “WHAT A GREAT READ!”

The cover is complete, the formatting from Word to Kindle is just about there, and all I need to do now

Is.

Market It!

Ack, but that’s the HARD part.

Can you believe that? Writing a book is supposed to be the most difficult component of publishing.

Making up a character (but truly, that was easy, because Meredith just popped on the page for me);

Finding and following a plot (well, again, I had no idea where Meredith was going, but before I knew it, she flew away from her comfy home in Boston to visit a stranger in a yacht off of St. Thomas and before she knew it…oh, never mind, you have to read the book to find out);

Getting to ‘The End’ (but you know what? The pages just flew on the tip of my pen from page 1 to 286).

Easy peasy.

Just a gallon of sweat, a bucket of blood.

But now, to market, to market.

If you have any suggestions on how to promote The Right Wrong Man, please pass them on.

Just remember, I’m kind of low on blood right now…

romantic suspense, book, good read, novel

54 thoughts on “To Market, To Market”

  1. I am so crazy excited for you!!! And the cover is FABULOUS! I love it!!! Well done, teach, wonderfully well done. Can’t wait to dive in ~ ~ ~

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  3. So very excited for you Pam!!! Cannot wait to read it! As for marketing, I’ll ask for some suggestions from my “marketing and communications” son. I’m no expert but I would guess that using all aspects of social media would be a good start…or maybe a huge billboard over San Francisco bay? (:

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  4. Well, I googled ‘right wrong man’ and Mitt Romney came up so… we definitely need the link to your book so that we can all start looking for it and up YOUR google hit ABOVE Mit Romney’s. I’m super excited to read it and will link it to my blog as soon as I can (and I’ll pass it on to the ‘young urban zen’ women in my life so that we can get the kids in on it too- you know, they know all about that twitter and texting stuff…) Yay- we get to read your book!

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    • There is nothing ‘anonymous’ about you! Thanks for the enthusiasm and I’d love you to pass it on to the ‘young urban zen’ women…whatever that is!! :+) I hope to ‘market’ my link within the week.

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  6. LOve it! I’m so glad I was along for the ride through some of work getting The Wrong Right Man to this stage of completion. I’m inviting you to step into the marketing phase as a guest on my blog when you think the time is right. xoxo

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    • Thank you Darla, I’d love for you to read/review THE RIGHT WRONG MAN! Yes, it will be e-published on Amazon, and thus on the Kindle. I’ll send you the link as soon as I complete that process. Once my book was totally ready (edited many times, proofed, critiqued, etc.), I hired a wonderful woman to help me create a professional cover (I gave her the photo and ideas, she excecuted) and she formatted it for me (a tedious process). Soon I’ll get the entire package into Amazon, and the book will be ready for your Kindle.

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  11. This is GREAT news!! I can’t wait to hear about how the next step goes! Congratulations, not least on putting yourself out there and (modestly) doing a little self-promotion! You go, girl!

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  12. Go Pam!! We modern authors are all learning the difference between marketing and advertising. (Credit Michael Phillips for articulating that so well in his enduring book – Marketing without Advertising – 30 years ago!) Marketing is touching our customers, and for authors, it’s even better. The uncomfortable part transforms as you discover the joy of engaging your own reader base. You have produced a rich, entertaining novel and your readers will look up to you. Those relationships are what marketing is really all about today. Keep your thoughts focused on those wonderful people and you’ll do just fine!

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    • Well, you’ve just explained it, in one short paragraph, in a way that makes me WANT to market my book (without advertising!). Thank you Suzanna – your comments make me feel more comfortable in spreading the news about my book – and myself – to friends near and far.

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    • Well, if not the hardest part, definitely the least fun. :+0 But I’m trying to see the joy in it, and hearing from people like you is helping me see that this CAN be a great part of the writing/publishing process.

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  22. What about an interview? I could come up with some questions for you, if you’d like to talk about your book on my blog. I don’t have a huge following, but I do have a few loyal readers who are always looking for a good book to add to their To Be Read pile and who want to know how an author gets published. 🙂

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  23. we are all telling everyone how GREAT it is (- you should hear your mom)
    so we know it will be a big hit love ya mom

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