Counterpoint: Observations about book marketing

A Guest Post by Author Lisa Turner

For most authors, marketing is a struggle. Some of us introverts shrink in horror at the thought of giving a talk or going to book fairs where we are expected to socialize, make small talk, and jazz up the greatness of our books.

These things are all good for us as authors. Making that stretch is good for our introverted souls, even though we don’t like it. We know that we lose energy at the end of these days, just as the extroverts are fueled up for more. But you may notice that at the end of the day you do feel the energy flowing because you’re happy to have given something to someone else and pushed yourself a little.

I spent eight years doing most of the things I was told to do—from entering contests to giving talks, to attending book fairs, and paying someone to help me run ads on Amazon. I attended webinar after webinar and learned all I could.

I learned how to do the correct formatting in Word for the books. I learned how to make a website. I learned how to do blogs and email marketing. I wrote and produced my seventh book.

Then something changed. It was a seismic shift; I realized I just wanted to write.

Just write.

So I decided to “retire.” Not to stop writing, but to stop all the infrastructure work around marketing. I stopped efforts on ads and social media. I stopped making schedules and lists around the fairs and events. I stopped worrying.

I sat down to write, realizing a new joy and calm. I am content with just “getting the books out there.” I give my books away now. It’s a wonderful feeling, the feeling you have when you volunteer and see others smile.

Now, like having children and/or pets, I am just happy to have them around.

The stress over marketing is gone. So are the reviews and book sales, and that’s perfectly okay.

Lisa Turner has published seven books. Learn more about them HERE.