My novel is self-published, so it would seem I am finished. Nope. After fourteen years of researching, writing, and editing my novel, I must now research, learn, and attempt to market my novel. After all, in today’s world, almost anyone can write a book with the advent of software like MicroSoft Word. In addition to that, almost anyone can self-publish a book because of how easy it is to do it. Because of this, my book, or any book, will most likely get lost in the piles of newly published pieces of work, if there are no efforts put forth to sell it. Therefore, I must come out of my naturally introverted shell and try to market my novel.
Marketing or sales do not come easy to me. On the Myers-Briggs personality scale, I am an INFJ, which means I am Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging. I do not like to persuade people to do something they don’t want to do or buy something they don’t want to buy. Live and let live is my motto, and I respect people’s wishes. Advertising and promoting myself makes me uncomfortable. But if you are a novel writer, like me, who isn’t a well-known best seller, you must market your novel. So, I have done everything that is cheap or free. I have created author pages, promoted my book for free on Kindle, and have tried to increase my social media influence. Now, I am looking into book signings for local authors.
My primary goal was not to make millions off of my book—even though that would be lovely. The reality has hit that, so far, I won’t be able to quit my day job on the profits I have made. Rather, I might be able to take my husband out to breakfast on that money. My main goal always was to develop my potential gift for writing and to produce a good novel with a satisfying ending. I wanted to write a novel that would make people feel something. The situations in the novel were created just for that effect. I didn’t start out with an outline. I just wrote the scenes and weaved them together. I knew where I wanted the novel to head, but many of the surprises and twists came later in the writing process. I have heard that in the creative process, a muse is sometimes channeled, who guides the whole endeavor. This was certainly true for me.
My big goal is for my novel to reach my target audience. I think women my age, who were a young adult in the 1980s, who struggle with feelings of inadequacy, who want to do the right thing, and who also yearn for romance, are the most likely people to enjoy my novel. Having said that, my daughter, who obviously is from a younger generation than me, read it and enjoyed it. If only a few people really enjoy reading my book, then my goal has been accomplished.
And if you do read my novel, and enjoy it, please leave me a review on Amazon. A good review, by far, is one of the best ways to get my novel noticed, and I would be very grateful.
Reflections in the Spirit of St. Julian 