Once upon a time, I dreamed I’d be published by a major publishing house.  My book would be snapped up, oodles spent to market it, and I’d watch the money rolling in.  Then, reality hit.  I did eventually get a contract, the books will be published, but that’s where the dream ends.

I research most of the things I plan to spend lots of time doing, before I begin.   So, when I got the email that said to expect the contract, I immediately started reading everything I could find on book contracts.  I sent it to a relative who’s a lawyer.  He passed it to a lawyer who deals with publishing contracts and intellecutal property rights.

When my cousin gave me their combined thoughts on the contract - which luckily coincided with mine -  I signed the document with lots more knowledge under my belt.  I didn’t get all I wanted, but it made sense to me to get my foot in the door. Negotiating bigger things can come when I have something with which to bargain.

After I sent off the contract, I  turned my attention to the business of marketing the book.  My publisher is in America, I live in Jamaica, so the next question was how to get  the books here, into the stores, and sold.

One of my girlfriends is a manager in a book store, so naturally I spoke to her.  She advised me to contact her closer to the time and reminded me that distribution is very important to sales.  I have another bookstore in mind, one of the biggest distributors on the island.  Now my son is a member of their bookclub,  so the people there know me.  Making my approach won’t be easy — I hate being in the limelight — but at least I have an edge.  The next time I’m in the store, I’ll find out how they make their book selections, and whether they’ll carry my book.

I don’t think it will be too difficult to convince them.  I’m banking on the fact that I’m a home-grown author, and the fact that they’ve always given prominence to books written by locals.  They also have shelves for Caribbean authors.  If I have to buy the books myself and sell it to them, then that’s what I’ll do. Anything to get my work in the public eye.

I write short stories and articles that I’ve sold to one of the local papers, so of course, I’ll be contacting the editor to see whether they will print a release when the book comes out.  Naturally, I’ll provide that press release.  I know better than anyone else what the story is about, and it will make that editor’s job easier to have the material sent print ready.

Networking has eaten up a fair portion of my time these last few months.  The fact is that people need to know I exist and that they trust my skills as a writer, before they run out and buy my book.  So making links is laying groundwork for what I’m selling.  This is not to say that every link I make is a calculated move to sell  my book, however, in the back of my mind, I must remember that each connection I make is a possible book sale. Even if my friends don’t buy my books, there are other people who will take a chance if my story sounds intriguing.  Besides people say that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

Which brings me to my website.  I started out with cutesy pages that fit the theme of each of my novels.  Slowly, I’m overhauling each one, so they look  more uniform and professional.  Who’s gonna take me seriously if every single page has a different theme?  Let’s face it, people come to my website to find content, not eye-catching wall paper.  I like an attractive storefront.  Nothing wrong with that, but the focus has to be on what I’m selling.

Based on an article I read on Rachelle Gardner’s Blog, I revamped my home page.  No more boring ‘Welcome to the website of…’ I replaced all that with synopses from my books to be published.  Makes a lot of sense to grab a visitor’s attention right away.  I also have to present a site that looks as though I’m serious about what I’m selling.

I’m learning as I go.  Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by what I have to do - media page yet to be made, press release to be written, book trailer to be made, what give-aways I’m gonna use, more connections to make, what book reviewers to contact, book signing to organize, radio and  press interviews to set up — the list is never-ending.

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been watching  published authors from the my writing website, and they’ve been very helpful, for which I’m grateful.  Doralynn Kennedy, Karla Brady, Lisa Lipkind Leibow, thanks a million! Corra - another writing friend - has been very proactive in getting people to read her words, and she’s not even ready to publish yet.  You all inspire me.

I’ve come a long way from the dream world  I inhabited months ago. With contracting markets and therefore less money to go around, the reality is that publishers cannot print and market writers’ books alone.   The job is harder for a small publisher trying to make their mark.  Some require that a marketing plan be submitted with query material.

Let’s face it, a book will be as successful as the amount of time and effort the writer puts into capturing the public’s eye and staying there.

What do you plan to do to make your writing journey a success?