Dream big and start Marketing

I firmly believe it is better to have dreamed and be let down at the end, than never to have had that dream. I'm a "glass is full" kind of person. So, I move ahead with the final edit of my YA novel, with the thought in my mind. My daughter, the teacher, is to do a final, final edit for anything, like five hundred commas too many and then it goes out on it's journey. I will find an agent and a publisher. So, I am getting marketing ideas in order.

I am updating my website, a much needed task but a bit more fun now, but I am still undecided which way to go. And, I have two blogs. Blogger is my “official” writing blog and WordPress is my family fun blog. There really isn’t anything on Word Press that should offend anyone, but you never know. I do have a cause: child abuse, so I did rant and rave when the FLDS in Texas were in the news. The worse that would probably happen is an agent telling me a couple of posts to delete.

Listening to the three boys who live with me, joke and laugh together about things such as being locked in closets for a month and beaten with a horse cinch, tear my heart out. I hope someday to find a way to be an activist for this cause. Lest I get started on that, again, I will move on.

One of my favorite marketing sites is Shrinking Violet Promotions with Robin LaFevers and Mary Hershey. There is a great blog Shrinking Violet Promotions: Marketing Task Recap. It lays out what needs to be done, in cooperation with your publisher, starting 9-12 months out from publication. There is a lot of other information on their site too.

One thing they mention is a fear of public speaking and how it may be helpful to join Toastmasters. Since I have spent years teaching art, including a short stint as an Adjunct at Casper College in Wyoming, I'm not terrified by the prospect of readings or book signings, but it won't hurt to brush up anyway.

For those of us who are not into things like FaceBook and MySpace, it’s a must read. Okay, so I dated myself there, but I just started Blogging this year, so give me time to catch up, while I dream.