By:
Jason Kong
If
you’re like most authors, you believe marketing isn’t relevant until your story
is close to being published.
Strategizing
a few weeks before the release date seems sufficient, or maybe a few months if
you’re really planning ahead. Marketing, after all, is only a post-publication
activity.
Except
it’s not true. If marketing is the ability to connect your fiction with the
people who want it, then your big chance was way before the launch. The window
to take advantage started and ended when your writing process did.
Why?
Because the most powerful marketing for a storyteller are the stories
themselves.
Books
that sell themselves
You’ve
witnessed this phenomenon plenty of times. You’ve experienced it as well.
When
you finish a story that was so great, so absolutely amazing that you were
grateful to have read it, do you keep these feelings to yourself? Of course
not. You praise the book over social media, or post a glowing review on Amazon.
You email friends who would appreciate the recommendation, or blog your
approval publicly.
Positive
word-of-mouth is more than just generating awareness, it’s an endorsement of
the fiction itself. Any author can buy advertising saying her book is
wonderful, but only stories worthy of conversation earn that extra buzz. And
what others say about your work has much more impact than anything you could
claim about it.
This
type of marketing occurs because it’s baked into the product. The privilege
isn’t for sale, nor can it be obtained post-production. The magic is made
possible (or not) when you create the story.
Put
another way, good writing is good marketing.
How
to leverage your leverage
To
read the rest of the post, click here.
~*~
If
you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they
are again:
- What Makes A Great Romance Novel? | A.D. Robertson http://ow.ly/rJHRj
- Writer Unboxed » Things Left Unspoken http://ow.ly/rJK9y
- 14 Daily Habits That Are Secretly Stressing You Out http://ow.ly/rJKR5
- Setting the Scene for a Good Story | Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/rJLYC
- Ether: Where Self-Publishing Surveys Cannot Go - Porter Anderson http://ow.ly/rJMfD
- Facebook's Out: Blogging and Google+ is In | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/rJMwW
- Right now, your book cover is the most important part of your book http://ow.ly/rJNaQ
- Your Artist Self and Your Business Self - Rachelle Gardner http://ow.ly/rJO2w
- 8 Tips to Get the Most Out of Running a Giveaway | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/rJPhM
- How to Get a Truckload of Reviews on Amazon http://ow.ly/rJQ8k
- 7 Steps To Make Your Blog A Marketing Machine - Heidi Cohen http://ow.ly/rJQEH
- Blog Growth: How to Build a Mega-Following | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/rJQWh
- The Art and Business of Reader Engagement + Author Platform http://ow.ly/rJSGI
- The Other Side of the Story: The One-Two Punch: Creating Conflict and Raising the Stakes http://ow.ly/rKpwT
- 8 Formatting Tips and Shortcuts For Writers http://ow.ly/rKIOR
- Michael La Ronn on how writing poetry helps him write prose | Self-Publishing Advice http://ow.ly/rKSm4
- Are You Missing Your Best Fiction Marketing Opportunity? | storyrally http://ow.ly/rKSrV
- How to Promote Your Book Like a Pro! | Triumph of the Spirit http://ow.ly/rKSKl
- Why You Should Give Away Your Ebook | Nonfiction Authors Association http://ow.ly/rKSXT
- A Year-End Letter from the American Booksellers Association | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/rKSZW
- 6 Lessons from the Top Bloggers: A Beginners Guide - Jeffbullas's Blog http://ow.ly/rKT9V
- The Write Conversation : Life Lessons—Avoiding Emotional Land Mines During the Holidays http://ow.ly/rKTil
- Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: Top 5 Sites for Romance Writers http://ow.ly/rKTEd
Happy
writing & running, Kathy
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