When I talk with authors, whether it’s for #WriteTalkWednesday or just in community, one of the things nearly everyone says is “I’m bad at marketing.” And it’s true for many writers, heck many people in general, promoting our work and tooting our own horns is difficult. In a world that values productivity and capital over creativity, announcing our creative endeavors to the world and trying to convince people to read them can be tough.
I propose a different thesis. You’re not “bad” at marketing; the system is failing you. Think about it. People are inundated with so much media to consume. There is a plethora of streaming channels. Subscribe to one for this franchise (looking at you Disney+), subscribe to another one to get the other show you watch, and then subscribe to a third one because it comes bundled with the first and you save a whole bunch of money. Much like all the podcasts I’ve hit follow on, I’d have to bi-generate or maybe tri-generate just to have enough clones of myself to watch/consume/listen to all the media and that probably doesn’t cover the two or three of me that’s probably needed to get through my “to be read” bookshelves.
Sense a theme here? There’s a lot of work out there, and so on one hand, it’s horribly depressing to think about your book, or my book, being out there in that sea, trying so hard to find readers. But, there’s also a very important point. With so much media available, there is truly a reader community out there for your work. The trick is to find it.
And that’s why a lot of authors say they’re “bad” at marketing. Because the tough part is finding the reader community who loves your work. When I first started publishing equestrian fiction for adults, back around 2017, there really wasn’t a community for it. But I was surprised and my women’s equestrian lit books found readers who loved them! Now I’m hoping to do the same thing with a transition to queer equestrian lit.
I don’t think you’re “bad” at marketing. It just that the deck, sadly, is stacked against the “little people” (that’s us!) who don’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to drop on Amazon and Facebook ads each month, or who don’t want to work a system filled with corporate algorithms and psychological tricks to get someone to click. We want to find readers, have them read (and love!) our books and get on with our writing lives.
