Last year I had a vision. No, it wasn’t the Virgin Mary in my peanut butter, or a visitation from a deceased great-aunt (as described in next week’s Book Recommendation — I can’t wait to share THAT one with you!). Instead, I thought about how I’m better at marketing others’ books vs. my own.
Don’t get me wrong. I write because I love to, because I have to, because without writing my life feels dull and empty. I don’t want or need to be a bestselling author. However, I would like to find more of an audience.
So, I thought, what if we writers got together and helped market each others’ books?
Fortunately, someone else thought of this, too, and she’s done a far better job than I could have envisioned. Melissa Foster, author of the award-winning novel Come Back to Me and others, has conceived a website of breathtaking scope. If you love reading books, this site is for you. If you are an author, this site is for you. Brava, Melissa!
I’ve known about the World Literary Cafe for a while, but I’m just getting into it. To start, I’m connecting with fellow authors through their Facebook author pages, I’ve been able to “talk shop” with people who are generous about sharing information. For example, one author pointed out to me, in the nicest way, that my Amazon author page wasn’t easily accessed. This led to some conversation with Amazon and some updating on my part…and this is just one little piece of how World Literary Cafe helps authors.
If I’ve learned nothing in life, I’ve learned this: When you want to succeed, find people who know what they’re doing and learn from them. As I surround myself with the expertise of people such as Joanna Penn, Joel Friedlander, and Melissa Foster, I’m developing a new plan for marketing my books, both current and future. I am deeply grateful for their wisdom and generosity, and I look forward to putting their recommendations to good use.
Do you have a team of experts to help you in your creative endeavors? Anyone you want to recommend?