Today, I’m not sure what I’m going to write, other than wing it. OMG! I drive myself crazy, but it is who I am. I’m a bonefied winger (if this is actually a word). Always going with the flow. Going to where ever fate and destiny may take me, which brings up the topic of MARKETING. ***eyes roll*** Currently, Secondhand Shoes is rocking in the waves of millions and millions of books. Hopefully, it won’t become a sinking ship.
But how much is too much marketing? Is there such a thing as too much? Everyday I’m bombarded via the social media by other authors. It causes me anxiety. The last thing I want to be is an annoying pain who can’t get past a comment box without saying ‘LIKE ME’, ‘FOLLOW ME’ and ‘BUY MY BOOK, DAMN YOU.” There has to be a better way of doing this. What happened to relationships?
Any suggestions?
***
Like there has to be a better way of doing housework and keeping up with the dust bunnies. We, Indies, have a lot of hats to wear. At least, I know I do. I’m a hairdresser for thirty hours a week. A wife. A cook. A laundry maid. Some where in all of this, I write. Don’t ask me how I do it because I haven’t a clue. I just do. ***shrugs***
But I remember asking my grandmother years back how she kept her house so clean even though she worked full time for an attorney. She told me, she cleaned one room a day. So that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been working out really well so far. Each room gets a top to bottom clean. Baseboards and all. One room can take up to an hour. Sometimes less.
***
So all of this marketing, writing, hairdressing, and house cleaning leaves me hungry for chocolate. Brownies come to mind. Speaking of which, have you ever added a can of pumpkin and two tablespoons of chocolate syrup to a box of brownie mix? You skip the egg and oil and bake this delightful confection at 350 for twenty minutes. They’re quite yummy, actually. I like to put a little nutmeg and cinnamon in mine.
But if you want something a little more nutritious, you can try my favorite smoothie:
1/2 Cup frozen blueberries
1/2 Cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Cup Almond or skim milk
Handful of baby kale
1/4 Cup oatmeal
2 tbsp. of Flax meal
Blend it in a blender and drink up!
***
Soon and very soon, Authors for Oklahoma, will be having a giveaway for 10 dollar donations to The American Red Cross for Moore, Oklahoma. A plethora of wonderful authors have donated their books to this, and I hope everyone will come and even help spread the word when we’ve got a date.
William Kendall, Norma Beishir, and myself have been working hard to get this going. So stay tuned for more information.
Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly
Good luck with everything Shelly and I hope everyone reads Secondhand Shoes. It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteJust wished the marketing thing was as easy as making brownies or a smoothy.
DeleteMmm, now my mouth's watering :) It's a lot of work, but it looks like you're managing to juggle all the millions of things going on!
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(From Sarah, With Joy)
Yes. I'm managing it all by sticking to a my very strict schedule.
DeleteJust keep doing what you're doing. At least you can sleep at night. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThe brownies sound delicious!
Yes. Sleep. And the brownies are wonderful. I use a gluten free mix.
DeleteVery cool about the Authors for OK!
ReplyDeleteI imagine being a hairdresser you can hand out flyers with your book info to clients, right?
And I agree it's hard to get noticed in a sea of books, and no one wants to always be pushing books. I think you just keep cultivating relationships, especially on twitter , then have links by your name where your book can be found. Sometimes it takes years. No easy way, I guess.I worry about it too for when I'm ready to get out there.
I do hand out little post cards. But I've also had people hand them back to me. ***shrugs*** As for twitter, I'm still trying to figure it out. Anyway, I'm going to keep on writing.
DeleteAuthors for Oklahoma will be doing their giveaway for donation soon.
Marketing's never easy, it seems...
ReplyDeleteAnd now I'm famished!
Go get yourself some chocolate, Sir Wills. You deserve it.
DeleteLoved this post. It was like taking a peek into my own brain. Nice and random.
ReplyDeleteMarketing is so hard! I tend to just chat to lots of people, link back to my blog, and leave it to speak for me. It has lots of other things on it (not just about my book), so hopefully it's not too pushy. Same on twitter and facebook.
Rinelle Grey
Some days are just that. Random.
DeleteAs for marketing, I'd rather build friendships.
Cleaning one room a day is a great idea. I also like the brownies with pumpkin in them. I don't think it is possible to market too much. l
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother was the smartest person ever.
DeleteI really admire everything indie authors do! Who knows, it might be a path I could take some day. Banish those doubts and keep writing and promoting your book! Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
I go up and I go down. Thank you, Laura.
DeleteMmm, now I want brownies and a smoothie. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea to clean one room a day. And I know what you mean about marketing. I think there is a fine line between too little and too much, and it's so easy to not know which side you're on.
I have no clue at this point where I'm at. I really think if I produce more titles it'll get easier, but I don't want to rush my writing, either.
DeleteI do a version of that to help keep the housework from getting out of hand. Instead of cleaning a single room from top to bottom each day, I divide it by chore. So one day I'll do the laundry, the next I'll do vacumming, I usually divide up the bathrooms to sink/toilet and tub/shower on separate days cause those tire me out the most. the kitchen gets a deeper clean once a week, and I also do most of my cooking once a week, so the rest of it's easier to just pop things into the dishwasher and eat out of the tupperware containers.
ReplyDelete