WISE COUNSEL—WITH MUSCLE II

Writer! Published Author! PR Specialist? Marketing Coach? Book Signing Scheduler? Connection Coordinator for Radio/TV Interviews? Website, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat Refresher?

WHAT? No! Not me. I’m the writer. I poured my life-blood into this book and everyone who has read it (3 friends, my Mom and spouse) loved it. When it hits Amazon, it will certainly be a best seller!

Well, Mr. Writer, I’m right there with you. I wrote my “bestseller” in 2015 and the initial sales were okay. Today, I’m deep into the work of a second book—enjoying every hair-pulling moment—while sales of that first book are floundering. It is time to admit that I’m not Super-Author who can write all day and market all night. There are simply not enough hours in the day to do both jobs well.  SO I’ve begun my search for HELP!

As Writers and Published Authors our needs are specific…

• to the genre of the book,
• to the main topic and/or perspective
• to the audience the book is written for,
• and to the unique goals each author sets.

The goal every writer/author hopes for can be stated in just one word: BESTSELLER. Thank goodness there are multiple Bestseller lists—most according to genre—that can fulfill that goal. However, it takes physical work to climb that trail and strategic planning to reach every Reader who is a potential buyer. This is why we need to search for the right Marketing Assistant for us, for our book(s) and for this book-buying season.

When at a Writers Conference, one of the Website presenters gave us some questions to ask ourselves before setting up our websites. Since then, I see the wisdom of answering these queries as I begin looking for Marketing help.

• Who are your Customers? Backgrounds? Likes? Dislikes?
• What would they be searching for on the Internet that would lead them to your book?
• What would you say to them if you met?
• What visual illustrations would attract your Readers?

Answering these questions as completely as possible before talking with prospective Assistants will help them understand the expectations you have in their work.

Next, develop questions you may ask when interviewing the Marketing Assistants whether in person or by phone or even email. I’ve come up with a short list. As you read them you may think of others.

• What is it about marketing books that you enjoy?
• Why do you feel qualified to market in the Children’s Books genre (or Sci-Fi, or Faith/Ministry, or…)?
• Have you experienced marketing mistakes? What did you learn from them?
• Describe how you’ve marketed similar books in the past and what success you’ve had.
• What marketing strategies do you consider useful for my/this book?
• Will you require me to sign a contract with you? What is your fee schedule?

This last question is the one we all want to avoid. We know we cannot do an excellent marketing job for ourselves and yet it is often a major stretch in our budget to hire someone to help us.  Consider this: If we save the money, attempt to do the marketing, then have few (or no) sales, we’ve lost all that time and effort and $$ in writing and publishing. Wise counsel suggests that we invest in our work one more time and sign on with the Marketing Assistant who support us in reaching our goals. ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.   Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.