So, for the past like, two months, I have been blabbing on and on and on about marketing. I need to get my book out there, I need to get people to read and review my book, etc… I’m still obsessing, reading articles, trying to put every effort into promoting Cemetery Tours. I’m not an aggressive person by nature, so I often feel like promoting my work is the same thing as bugging people. I definitely prefer to let my work speak for itself, and, at the risk of sounding like an arrogant, self-important dingbat (one of my favorite words at the moment), I’m pretty confident that it will. I, like several writers, am very sensitive to criticism and humiliation, and I would not have put Cemetery Tours out there if I wasn’t damn proud of it and confident that people would enjoy it. So far, I’ve heard only good things. I’m curious as to how I’ll feel when someone looks me in the eye and says, “You suck. Your book sucks. Get thee to a nunnery, you hopeless loser.”
As much as I love my book, however, I have found I’m not all that fond of marketing. I have a few more ideas in mind. For example, there will be another Kindle promotional thing for Christmas. It won’t be free again, but it will be discounted. Amazon won’t let me schedule it yet, but as soon as I can, I will announce it… over and over and over again…
I was talking to my dad (basically my business brain since my own brain is all sparkles and dolphins and rainbows) and his advice to me was, “Focus on the sequel. Get that done. Then, at the beginning of the year, make one last big push for Cemetery Tours while spreading the word about the upcoming sequel.”
See? This is why it pays for writers to know BUSINESS. I never would have thought of that. I would have just gone on my merry little way begging people to read my book while sporadically working on the sequel. I know how to write stories, but my dad (and other lucky smart people) knows how real life works! I used to joke around that the world would be a better place if everyone was more like me, but the truth is, I’m really glad more people aren’t like me. If they were, nothing would ever get done. Absolutely no one would do anything productive at all. They’d all sit around by lakes, writing stories about ghosts, and wondering if things that happened in the past are actually happening now… but in the past. Or if everyone sees color the same way.
The world really doesn’t need very many people like me. I do try to do good things and give back though, so maybe I do contribute something.
Anyway, that’s the new game plan. Promote still through the holidays, but really focus on getting the sequel together. I’ll announce the title as soon as its registered on Bowker, which it won’t be until it’s finished… However, I am very excited about it. I’ve had the idea for this book in my head longer than the idea for Cemetery Tours. I basically wrote Cemetery Tours so I could write this book.
That’s all for now! Gonna go eat blackberries and edit and write! I’m also going to go get socks because it’s actually COLD here and my feet are freezing!
A Platform of Sorts 