{"id":90,"date":"2008-03-14T08:10:36","date_gmt":"2008-03-14T13:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noelfigart.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/14\/writing-books-and-marketing\/"},"modified":"2008-03-14T08:10:36","modified_gmt":"2008-03-14T13:10:36","slug":"writing-books-and-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/14\/writing-books-and-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing, Books and Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a fantasy writer who has put out a series of courses on how to write, get published — the whole round of business stuff.\u00a0 Her name is Holly Lisle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’ve found her work valuable.\u00a0 (Thanks Holly!) I’ve never managed to do what I’d like with my fiction<\/em>, but her advice and the stuff she’s put out there has definitely been instrumental in me being able to earn a large percentage of my living as a freelance writer.\u00a0 Since many of my favorite writers got their starts as journalists, I can only hope the the rigors of producing good copy to a tight deadline will hone other skills and improve my fiction.<\/p>\n

She mentioned in one of her Q&A emails (one you have to sign up to get and can unsubscribe from!<\/em>) that she’s come under criticism for mentioning her own work as examples for stuff she’s talking about and shame on her for “advertising”.<\/p>\n

Sure, there are times when promotion becomes irritating and probably isn’t going to get you a customer.\u00a0 Joining an internet discussion board that has a social or community aspect to it only to discuss a book you just wrote might irritate people.\u00a0 But I think it’s unrealistic to assume that a writer who is spending time teaching about the craft would refrain from mentioning her own work in a newsletter she writes and owns<\/em>.\u00a0 It’s very clear from her site that she’s interested in making money from writing and from teaching about writing. \u00a0 And what in the name of God is the matter with that?<\/p>\n

This rant comes from two places for me.\u00a0 I make part of my living as a writer, and part of it as a teacher.\u00a0 Developing a course, even a minor one, takes time and energy.\u00a0 If you have a quick example that will prove your point about something quick to hand, that’s what you’ll use.\u00a0 It would be inefficient not to.<\/p>\n

The writer part.\u00a0 There are writers who don’t promote their work.\u00a0 You’ve never heard of them because… they don’t promote their work. \u00a0 See, making a living as a writer isn’t just about sitting at the keyboard pounding words out in a flood of prose — though those moments do <\/em>feel a bit godlike.\u00a0 Which, I suspect, is why many of us do<\/em> it. \u00a0 It’s about research, it’s \u00a0\u00a0 about development.\u00a0 It’s about finding someone who’ll pay<\/em> you to do it, and that’s no trivial task. \u00a0 Of course<\/em> you’re going to mention your work!\u00a0 If you don’t, you stop having work.<\/p>\n

Have I ever been irritated by someone promoting their work?\u00a0 Yep.\u00a0 The poly community, ferinstance, is loaded with people who write a book, then join online communities for the basic purpose of promoting that work.\u00a0 They’ve forgotten a very basic premise of networking. \u00a0 You have to have an established relationship — you know, maybe made friends<\/em> before that sort of informal marketing works well.\u00a0 Otherwise it’s gonna backfire.<\/p>\n

But if someone owns a site, has a mailing list for which on can sign up for, and then you do? \u00a0 Yeah, it’s only reasonable to expect the person is gonna mention his work!\u00a0 That’s not crass.\u00a0 It’s only sensible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a fantasy writer who has put out a series of courses on how to write, get published — the whole round of business stuff.\u00a0 Her name is Holly Lisle. I’ve found her work valuable.\u00a0 (Thanks Holly!) I’ve never managed to do what I’d like with my fiction, but her advice and the stuff she’s … <\/p>\n

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