Sometimes You Need to Turn off the Noise in Publishing

Recently I’ve seen several blog posts from highly successful authors who have some sort of agenda that assumes their way of publishing is THE WAY to fame, fortune, and forever happiness. Here’s the truth. What works for one author doesn’t necessarily work for another.  You may be thinking that XYZ author is super successful, so that is obviously the path to the yellow brick road where there are rainbows, unicorns, and ruby shoes, but stop to think for a moment. Regardless of how super successful XYZ is  he/she most likely got their start several years ago.

In other words, it didn’t happen overnight, no matter what super successful XYZ might state. Whether XYZ published independently or with one of the large corporate publishers- that person quite likely got their start several years ago. At the time that XYZ author published either as an independent author or with a corporate publisher, the strategies that worked for XYZ author back then may no longer be relevant for a debut author now.

Consider this: When I wrote HOW TO MARRY A DUKE in 2008 indie publishing wasn’t considered respectable. It was called vanity publishing. Clearly a lot has changed since 2008. Lots of authors are indie publishing these days and are finding success.

Finally, I spent ten years in corporate marketing, and the best advice I can give you is to write a damn good book.  I will also tell you that you shouldn’t spend hours on promotion. Make a sensible plan and – this is really important – make connections with your readers.  Don’t view it as work. View it as an opportunity to learn more about your readers (aka your target market).

I sincerely hope this blog helps. If you’d like to know more about marketing and promotion, let me know and I’ll blog about it periodically. May the Magic Romance Fairies be with you!