My Pet Peeve - Marketing

 

What is it about marketing?

 

You have a wonderful story; you know it, and everyone who reads it tells you so. You have a cover to die for and you belong to the most energetic publishing house in the business. And yet, in spite of the promotional exposure in the social media, guest appearances with gift copy incentives, in spite of leaving postcards on public transport and accosting neighbours and strangers with bookmarks and fascinating commentary, your book remains invisible to the reading public.

 There must be a way to attract attention.

What would I do, in an ideal world?

 Pay for a huge billboard advertisement in  major cities, or a rolling digital display in Time Square.

 

 

 

  Have the cover imprinted on the side of buses or taxis or paint my own car.

 

 Advertise in the sky.



or think outside the box! 

Stand on the Town Hall steps ringing a great bell.

When the crowd gathers, I’d unravel a poster sized scroll of my cover and tell them. “I dare you to read this book! Just as in an alchemist’s hands, lead changes into gold, so too, this book will change the reader forever.”

Or, I could write a script for a theatrical group to enact my story

in costumes hired or sewn by me
and sell gift certificates of the book, at interval, to be retrieved from MuseItUp in the following days.

 

If all this fails to attract sales, I’d create controversy surrounding the book and/or the author and have the book banned.
 

 

That's what I’d do in an ideal world.

 

Although I believe my book is one in a million, it really is one in millions, swamped in a sea of other books, doomed to remain invisible from readers, unless I can find Reader’s Groups who want my book on their ‘to read’ lists.

 I need to find a library or High School group willing to take on the task (pleasure) of reading my book for discussion. For now I’ll continue to speak about THE book whenever I can create the opportunity. It’s amazing how easy it is to turn any conversation towards ‘my novel’. However, one must know when to stop talking –  when the listener checks his watch, steps backwards, looks over both shoulders or smiles with glazed eyes and says, “So it’s an ebook? Is it free?”

Wendy Laharnar can be found at MuseItUp Publishing
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