Freaked Out on Book Marketing: Balance Regained!

So, I promised to tell you how I moved through my recent “freaked out” feelings about book marketing.

Well, a big chunk of it was going to my friends on Verla Kay’s website. The writers there are extremely generous, and they shared lots of wonderful insights about how they keep it all balanced. At least sometimes!

The three biggies that helped me were these:

1) Have a schedule.
2) Do the book marketing tasks that you enjoy. (And don’t do what you don’t!)
3) Realize that some books get lots of publicity and tank anyway, and some books get no publicity and go on to greatness. And often it doesn’t have much – if anything – to do with the author’s marketing efforts.

That last one really got to me, in a good way. It made me realize that while I want to do my best – to give my first book my very best shot – in the long run it really isn’t all about me. In some ways, it’s just about my book – it’s written, and it’s going out in the world and hopefully some kid will love it the same way that I loved Sounder or Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, or A Wrinkle in Time. It’s the fact that I wrote it that is the most important thing. And in other ways, it’s not even about that much – it’s just gonna be what it’s gonna be. And that’s okay.

This new attitude of mine doesn’t mean that I’m going to let up on publicizing my book

– I do feel my efforts are important on some level. But realizing again that it’s not “all about me” lets me take myself less seriously. It will be okay. No matter what happens.

So I’m pleased to report to you that I’ve re-gained my sense of humor on the other side of all the angst.

(Now, will someone please remind me about all this the next time I get all freaked out?!)