Writing is Only a Small Fraction of the Battle: The Complicated Web of Marketing

Why do I write? I've sometimes asked myself this question because of the pitfalls I've been finding myself in. Most writers I've met say they love telling stories and we often have the same procrastination mindset where we know our first draft of anything will be crap. My other writing sin is my innate desire to finish my novel, but then I get sidetracked with adding more details. With that intro itself getting me sidetracked: back to the main purpose of this post.

I wrote my first novel a little over a year ago, got some good feedback from beta readers, and then realized the barrier to traditionally publish is taller than the Empire State Building. But I thought, no worries. I can self-publish, own all the rights and won't be told what I can and cannot put into my books. But then I realized that self-publishing is easy, it's the marketing that's difficult.

Through different promotions with KDP and Goodreads I was able to get my book into about a hundred people's hands (at my expense btw, but it did drum up some purchases and I made $15) anyway... Those hundred people have yet to say if they like the book or not. So clearly I need to do more. Reading about promoting and marketing I realized I need to have a presence on social media, and since then have opened Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and try to be active on Goodreads. I've also moved my blog from Blogger to Wix because of the nicer features available here.

All's this to say, is if you're wanting to generate interest in your writings as opposed to just writing for yourself, you need to market yourself and your writing. Am I talking to you reading this? Or myself? Probably a little of both. My biggest issue is impatience. I want to see results quickly. (One of the reasons weight loss for me was always a disaster. I have lost 30lbs over the course of 18 months so... Progress! But that's a topic for another day).

What's interesting is that impatience is a character trait I've included into one of my WIP characters, and all the characters around him remind him to be patient. I'm not saying this because it's guaranteed to bring success. You can work yourself to death and not see the success you dream of. But hard work should bring a sense of dignity, achievement, endurance. That even if you don't succeed, you can still say you put your all into your work.

I say all this mainly for a sort of pep-talk for myself. I'm writing for myself, writing books that I want to see on shelves, and that's an achievement itself. If some people find and read them, great! If not, I can sleep well knowing I put my all into my writings and tried my best at marketing.