Empty Thimbles & Good Writing Friends

I found this picture and thought it worked well for this post. It says that traditional publicity interrupts in hopes of gaining attention and focus of the target audience for brief periods of time, and is often expensive and the advertising campaign may not be very successful.

Conversely, content marketing offers something valuable...like information and insight, and can create loyalty that brings folks back. Hmmm...like a blog? Behold: you are witnessing a smart move of content-marketing!

You see, what I know about marketing books wouldn't fill a thimble. But my Word-Whore comrades, both former and current, are a savvy, if motley, crew and they have been influential. Just reading what they blog about has often given me perspective, and offered new ways to be creative.

In particular, I want to call out Jeffe and former Word-Whore James R. Tuck:

This week Jeffe offered the advice of taking on the commitment and work of an RWA chapter president. Her testimony on that is real and accurate--she's not a baker sugarcoating her word-wares. I can see how she has really blossomed in the last few years. Listen to her, writing newbs. She knows her shit.

Tuck is a particularly interesting fellow. Suffers from a complete excess of personality. He's never met a stranger. I mean if you bumped into that guy at the grocery store today and said, "Hey, ain't you that Blood and Bullets guy?" he'd shake your hand and you'd walk away as a friend. He's got charisma. He's happy. He likes what he's doing and you can tell there's no sugar-coated bullshit there either.

So if I'm to offer some advice, if I'm to attempt to fill my thimble with useful data to share with you, then I'm going to say one word:

Commit.

Maybe that means using the serious and business-like side of your personality and taking on some professional responsibility.

Maybe that means using the excited and happy side of your personality and literally telling everyone you know about your books, and getting yourself to the places where people who like those kinds of books can be found so you can tell all of them about your books without being ashamed to ask them to tell all their pals about them. (And all of this without ever delving into obnoxiousness).

You have strengths. Commit to finding them. Commit to using them. AFTER you have committed to being in the chair and writing the damn book as KAK says, and learning and honing your craft.

And in the mean time, check out this nifty giveaway I'm happy to be a part of:

html://www.faebooks.co.uk/p/4k-likes-giveaway.html