Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Some Wise Advice

Just read the following quote by marketing guru Seth Godin:

“The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. Three years to build a reputation, build a permission asset, build a blog, build a following, build credibility and build the connections you’ll need later.”

So those of you struggling to get published can take heart. It takes time to become a writer. Many writers practice their craft for years--10+ years is not uncommon--before they see their work in print. So if you're at the early stages of your career, now's the time to start blogging, building your platform, and making connections. Then when you find a publisher for your novel, you'll have all the pieces in place to promote it.

I've learned that marketing can eat up a lot of time. I write under several pseudonyms and juggling all the promo efforts often devours hours of what used to be writing time. I find I enjoy social networking. So much so that I sometimes spend hours reading posts and responding to even the silly and mundane ones. Not sure that any of that gains me more readers or sales, but it sure is FUN!

Anyone have any advice on how to cut back on the social media addiction & find more time to write?

2 comments:

Lisa Lawmaster Hess said...

Kristi Holl's 6/19 blog used advice from the book Some Writers Deserve to Starve - 2 hours of writing for each hour of Net time. Now when I spend too much time checking out everyone's blogs, that little factoid nags away at me!!
To read the whole blog go to http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog.

Lily Stone said...

Great advice, Lisa (and Kristi!).