Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Getting your book in to the hands of your readers


Hello and welcome!!

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tiffany Colter and I have a marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com. I am honored that the Writer's Rest team has invited me to share some marketing tips with you each Tuesday.

I'm not sure how many of you have followed from my blog and how many of you are meeting me for the first time so I hope some of you will introduce yourselves in the comments.

Today we're going to start out by talking a little bit about what marketing is and is not.

Many writers cringe when they hear the word "Marketing". We are authors. We are artists. We don't want to commercialize!!!

Well, without marketing our hourse laboring at a computer and bleeding on the page will have been for nothing. So throw away your previous ideas about marketing. It is NOT a bad thing. In fact, I enjoy many aspects of marketing my writing [one of them I'm doing right now!!] Simply put, marketing is getting your work in to the hands of your readers. So think about who your readers are and how best to communicate with them.

That is marketing!!

Now let me tell you what marketing is NOT. Marketing is NOT hardselling, brow beating or cold calling!! I, like many other shy people, have major phone fear. I cannot talk to a person I don't know on the phone. It simply terrifies me. So if you're the same way then rest assured-we'll talk about other ways to reach our readers.

So to begin marketing start to think about who your reader is, what they like to do and where they are.

Then we'll talk about it more next Tuesday!!

I hope you will all introduce yourselves and next week I'll share a bit more about me and some more ways you can build your writing business.

I have to go now, I have relaxing to do.

Your coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

Tiffany Colter can be seen weekdays at www.WritingCareerCoach.com on her blog. If you'd like to know more about her or her products for writers you can visit the same website.

2 comments:

Eileen Astels Watson said...

It's nice to meet you here, Tiff!

I'm so glad you don't intend to teach brow beating, telemarketing, etc., as I too am more the reserved type and would much rather sit and trust God to drive the masses, than work to help Him send them.

But I know He asks us to work for His good, so I'm quite interested in learning what you have to offer, to help me market all He has given me.

Will you be looking at marketing of blogs, as well as novels through these Tuesday sessions?

Catherine West said...

Okay your phone fear comment totally made me smile! I have the exact same thing, and have apparently passed it on to my daughter. I really hate talking on the phone to someone I don't know. I LOVE email.
A few months ago I had to prepare my first book proposal for my agent. I don't mind telling you that I hated it. Especially the author bio. I had to really wrack my brain to think of things to write about. I write fiction and I'm not published yet, so I don't really have a platform per se. I realize once I am published that I will actually have to leave the house and meet people who want to buy my books...that's slightly more terrifying than talking to them on the phone! So I'm looking forward to your coaching lessons and I hope you've got some tips for us introverts!