“I need to write, not learn to market.”

Hey Writing Etc. Subscriber,

I get e-mail. Lots of it. But the ones I find particularly interesting are from the folks leaving the Writing Etc. list. I find their e-mail messages fascinating. In fact, I got one the other day I simply have to share with you. It went like this:

Dear Beth,

I’m leaving Writing Etc. because you talk about marketing too much. I don’t need to market. I need to write. If I’m a great writer, then people will naturally buy my work.

Freelancer

I didn’t reply. However, I’ll share my thoughts with you.

I’m glad this writer is independently wealthy and doesn’t have to worry about making a living as a writer. That’s a good thing. But for the rest of us writers who have bills to pay, marketing is going to be a large part of our day.

It’s the harsh reality we’ll always face.

No matter how well you write, your talent probably won’t get noticed unless you’re out in the fray pointing people towards your message. We live in a big, noisy world and if you want to make a living as a writer, you need to find your spot, hunker down for the long haul, and learn how to draw attention to your message… i.e. marketing.

In fact, unless you write only for the joy of it (nothing wrong with that), you can assume every query you write, every article you write, every novel you write is a form of marketing/persuasion. Just think, you query needs to persuade a publisher to accept your work. You article needs to persuade the reader that you’re not only an expert, but they should listen to your opinion. If you want your reader to buy into the world of your novel you need to… persuade them.

Now, learning persuasion skills doesn’t have to be hard, uncomfortable, or expensive. I’m probably the biggest weenie alive when it comes to marketing and I’ve managed to figure out a comfortable way for me to share my message. Also, I’ve studied marketing techniques, purchased the big-time expensive courses as well as inexpensive used Amazon books. Funny thing, they share nearly identical information.

Marketing is not magic, it’s not “spiritual,” or hypnotic. It’s consistency, mastering a few basic concepts, and never giving up.

But to think that as a writer you’ll never have to market… that’s unfortunate because if you don’t do this, you’ll probably die without ever having released your message.

We’ll talk more about marketing next time.

Just my thoughts on a chilly Friday,

Beth 🙂