"Market Something Every Day You Write Something"

Here's the next in my series of posts on Truths and Myths about writing. Each time I post, I'll start with a truth or myth about the writing life, the publishing industry, etc. Hopefully you'll enjoy some of these secrets, tips and tricks.

So #3 is "Market something every day you write something." What do you think? Is that a truth or a myth?

It depends on what your overall goal is, but in general, this is a truth. If you want to be a published writer, marketing your work can be just as important as writing it.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting it's more important, though some people would say that. I have a friend who believes in the "20/80" rule. He spends 20% of his time writing, and 80% of his time marketing his material. He uses his six-figure writing life to prove his success.

But I don't totally agree. While I see great value in marketing your material, you have to find your own balance between being a writer and being a marketer. But the truth is this: marketing leads to sales, so marketing is important. The question though: how important are sales to you?

For some writers, their ultimate goal is getting published and selling books. My friend will be the first to tell you he's not that concerned with the quality or passion of his writing. He writes to make a good living, so he markets all he can.

But for other writers, the journey of writing and the quality of writing is their passion. Sales are a second thought, if not an afterthought, which provide nice benefits.

I don't think there's anything wrong with either of these scenarios. Both writers write because they love writing. They just have different goals. So, when you consider today's truth, ask yourself where you stand. Personally, I try to do one thing every day to market my writing. (Though now that I'm in school again, it's more like one thing a week...and I've taken a financial hit because of it.) Still, it provides a good balance for me, so I can try to excel at my writing, but also make a living at it.

Finally, what is marketing? It could be writing a proposal for an editor, getting a friend to post a review of your book on Amazon.com, sending an email out, posting on a forum, scoring an interview on a radio show, etc. Anything that raises awareness of your material. It's a necessary evil in the writing life, and it can be quite fun.

Until next time--enjoy writing!

Chris

Christopher Maselli
TruthPop.com