Publishing: On My Way to Base Camp

Well, I've begun the trek to base camp. That is, I've started to receive notifications from publishers and literary agents. Mostly I have received courteous rejection letters that indicate my manuscript is not something that is a good "fit" for them. They wished me well in my endeavors. One publisher here in Virginia has placed my manuscript in their queue. In the meantime, they requested a detailed marketing plan (there's that word again). I'll admit, I don't know a whole lot about marketing, but it seems to me the main goal of marketing extends beyond simply putting a product in someone's hand. It involves creating a brand and establishing worth and value in order to  maintain relevance and significance. No easy feat to be sure.

Marketing is all about having a plan - and a backup plan, and a backup to the backup plan. It's an undertaking not suited for the timid, shy, or those lacking in self-confidence. Rejection will become your nemesis with whom you will become all too familiar. A successful marketing plan requires passion, unbridled enthusiasm, and the belief that you actually have something to offer. Sure, that sounds easy, but just wait until the rejection notices start flooding your inbox. Then it's a different story because what you're essentially marketing is YOU! You begin thinking about marketing your book, which, of course, you are attached to because you wrote it. However, it will quickly become abundantly clear that you aren't going to get much mileage out of just your book. People become interested in your book only after they become interested in you.

Do you have a story to tell? What's the story behind the story? What prompted you to write a book, and why did you choose that particular topic? This is what sells YOU and ultimately sells books. Readers want to hear a success story, a story about achievement and overcoming adversity. People like winners because everyone wants to be a winner, and one of the best ways to feel like a winner is to associate with winners. Winners are successful. They've overcome adversity and survived; they've scaled insurmountable obstacles and lived to tell the tale; they've achieved the impossible and now personify human endurance and determination. Their stories are rife with ups and downs, laughter and tears, joy and sorrow. But they end in victory, success, and accomplishment, which is what makes them worth hearing. And it's these endings that make them marketable. As an author, it's important to remember you are not marketing your book. You are marketing yourself! Your book is merely an extension of your story.