Marketing… huh?

It is 2012.

THE YEAR MY BOOK COMES OUT!

AHHHHH!!!!!

I’ve officially entered a new era in my path to being a published author.

I’m starting to get my head wrapped around the whole concept of marketing my book.

*gulp*

I have a love/hate relationship with the word marketing.

I LOVE the thought of being able to get my book into the hands of readers. It’s an author’s dream to have people read their story. It’s the purpose of all those sleepless nights listening to characters talk in your head and the subsequent sleepless nights trying to perfect the prose during editing.

But marketing a novel, for ME, is personal and scary. I keep trying to tell myself, “It’s just business” but writing a book comes from a really deep part of you, so it’s about as personal as it gets. What if no one likes it? What if no one buys it? What if people get annoyed when I tell them that I wrote a book because they think I’m this big selfish dork and just wish I would go away and shut up already?????

So finding ways to tell/convince/bribe/beg people to buy my book… (that won’t make them run for the hills…) yeah, it’s hard to wrap my head around.

Yet, I know I have to. Because I must have my book’s name, and subsequently my name, into the ears of as many people as I can so my books can sell so publishers will want to publish more books of mine.

In looking at this big M word, I remind myself the REASONS I’m doing this for the first place.

Which are:

~ Jesus told me to. Not in audible words, but the prodding was very real.

~ To be a light for Jesus. I try not to “preach” when I write, but rather let God’s light shine through the life of my characters, to let them experience real life and struggles and work to overcome them. Jesus used stories as illistrations, and I believe he calls some of us to do so as well.

~ To make people smile. I write romance, which is smile-worthy right there, but I also write quick, snappy, light-hearted romance. My goal is to give a woman a break from everyday light and something to laugh with and smile about. Because we all need those laughing moments. It is great medicine, don’t ya know!

~ To stay home. This is a new one for me. But I had to let my job go last year because I couldn’t care for Annabelle and still work. Yet, it has caused an incredible strain, one we won’t be able to keep going for the long-term. Writers don’t make a lot of money, that is a well-documented (and complained about, ha!) fact. Yet my hope and prayer is that I CAN treat my writing as a business as well and be both profitable for my publisher and my family, and be able to continue being the at-home Mommy that I am loving to be!

So there they are. The reasons that I’m pulling up my bootstraps and embarking on this big unknown marketing thing.

My first step I took yesterday: I created an author page on Facebook! This way, I have a place to hang-out with future readers, and update about all the latest steps in my writing journey. I’ll still update here… but you’ll “hear it first” on my author page! I’ll also post links to any interviews I do there, and other cool links that I find that readers might be interested in! I don’t completely have it all figured out yet… but if you’d like to “like” me… you can do so by clicking here!

Discussion: Any marketing tips? Anyone? This is coming from the Mom who fails at selling girl-scout cookies with her daughter…