More Creativity or More Marketing?

Suppose I ask a friend, "Which would help me sell more books? Learn how to be more creative with my writing? Or learn better marketing skills?"

The two go hand-in-hand. One without the other is nothing, a big zero, a failure.
However, I think most writers are better at one than the other.

Take Example #1: Jane Author. Jane is a writing machine. She can turn out stories without even trying. She's highly creative, always taking notes, observing, thinking about scenes in her recent WIP, or a plot for an entirely new story. Her products are very good, if not superior to many writers. But her marketing skills are weak, and she doesn't know exactly how to improve them.

Example #2: Mary Market. Mary knows all about marketing. She's even written a book that teaches others how to market themselves as well as she does. But she's a slow writer, and often has more than one manuscript unfinished. Her one book sells very well, because she knows how. But selling one book will not help the bank account.
Both writers will soon suffer burn-out.

The question is: How do I strike a balance between the two?

Personally, I am better at writing than marketing. Writing requires a good imagination, above average command of the English language, and knowledge about writing fiction. All these still require continued learning, for none of us ever know everything. At least, I'm comfortable writing, and so far I have not suffered burn-out.

Marketing, though, is still a bit elusive--and boring. At the moment, I do as much as I know how, and that's not much. Many other venues exist that I have not mastered.
Question: How important is the fact we should market ourselves....instead of the book? Does this make sense? I've read articles that suggest marketing ourselves goes a long way in selling our product.

Maybe our individual personality helps sell--or not. Personally, I'm drawn to authors who are positive and fun and friendly. That doesn't mean I haven't read books by authors I know I wouldn't like in person--it only means it's not the norm for me.

I study commercials for car and trucks on TV. Most are rather obnoxious, in my opinion. However, one of the most obnoxious ones sells the brand of truck we just bought. But the dealer we bought from was here in town, and not one person in there was obnoxious. In fact, they go out of their way to be kind and courteous and happy. Also, they serve breakfast--really! Four kinds of coffee, fresh, glazed donuts, and sausage rolls. In the afternoon, they switch to big bakery cookies with white chocolate, packages of cheese crackers, soft drinks, and popcorn.
The dealer on TV is in Austin, and I would not go there simply because of the man and woman in the commercial. Completely outrageous and loud.

This is a case of personality. If we hadn't been very happy with the dealer and the particular salesman, we would have gone elsewhere.
I think anyone would have.
And this applies to selling anything--our books and/or us.

It pays to be nice.
Celia Yeary
Romance...and a little bit of Texas

DON'T GET MAD--IT WON'T HELP ONE BIT!

 

I know there are times when you want to scream, have a hissy fit, or throw something against the wall. (Just don't kick the cat.) We've all been there, but truly, did the tantrum help? The answer is "no," unless you want to count the fact you feel a little better after venting. That's okay. Really.

But did it solve your problem or turn a negative into a positive? No, probably not.

Years ago, when I played a lot of golf, I was a member of the WGA (Women's Golf Association) at the local Country Club. First, this was truly a kind of "country" club. Not one member was an elitist in any shape or form. Every member was just like me--a working person who could afford the low dues and who had time to play.

Since I was a member and had earned a fair handicap, I could play in the championship tournaments. Now, that didn't mean I played in the Championship Flight, but I could enter in the First Flight (There was a Second and a Third Flight, and I always worked very hard to stay above those.

So, the season's championship tournament began. The format was a two-person one-on-one...and there were six two-person groups. First round, half were eliminated. The second round, another half were eliminated. This continued over a period of days until only two players remained in each flight.

During the last round, I had survived and the First Flight trophy would go to one of us. The other player was a much larger woman than I. I am not tall or big, and I am not strong. I hit "short," but almost always in the middle of the fairway, and I worked on my short game all the time--chipping and putting--which is the key to winning or losing.

She and I played 18 holes and at the end, we were tied. She was not happy. I was ecstatic.
So we had to start over on #1 and this time, play Sudden Death.

First hole, we tied. She cursed a little.
Second hole, we tied. She cursed and threw a club.
Third hole--short Par 3, uphill.

My shot flew straight and true and landed just short of the green. She hit and landed in the water on the left. She dropped another ball, hit her Penalty shot, and landed on the green.

I lay ONE, she lay THREE. She became very, very angry, stomped around, threw things, cursed at the sky, and I stood to the side, thinking...I have beaten her. I chipped close and one-putted for a three, she two-putted for a five.

I win!

Why? She lost her temper. Yes, her anger and temper defeated her. She was a better player and hitter, but I took the trophy. She remained angry at me for, oh, about eight more years.

Righteous or moral anger against a humanitarian crime or sin is okay. We should be angry when the weak and defenseless are crushed.

But allowing our anger to overcome us for personal desires, something we work for and don't obtain, won't get us anywhere.

The best plan--stay cool and calm. Think through the problem. Can you fix it? Or is the problem out of your hands?

During the last few months, I have been frustrated that sometimes a release just doesn't sell.

Any attempt to find a reason fails, and the frustration builds. I know there's something more I could do, but for the life of me, I can't find a way.  

After a few weeks, I decided the problem is not worth agonizing over, and just let it go.

We do the best we can, and if it doesn't work...don't get mad. It won't help one bit.
My advice is to study the problem, devise a new plan, and go in a different direction.
Or forget it and move on.

But whatever you do...don't get mad. You'll lose every time.
Celia Yeary
Romance...and a little bit of Texas

Dagnabit!

I love the commercial in which the old farmer comes out to spell "cow." I guess he's in a spelling bee. He spells, "Cow. C-o-w-e-i-e-i-o." {{Buzzz!!!}} He says, "Dagnabit!" This makes me laugh every time.

However, it's not a bad word to use when one is disappointed or frustrated. I, myself, say "dagnabit" on occasion, as when I dropped the jar of jalapeno peppers on my kitchen tile floor, or when I stuck my mascara wand into my eye.

In this case, I'm frustrated and disappointed that a few of my best stories are not big sellers. This may be a personal bias, of course, since I wrote them, but I do believe these stories of which I speak are truly much better than some of my others that sell very well.

Now, you might think I'd begrudge a novel or novella selling really well, when I know in my heart it's not my best work. Not true. I love everything I've ever written--I'd be a poor example of an author if I didn't--but I just know some are better than others.

Why is that? Why does a perfectly good story that gets good reviews and wonderful praise from my local readers...not sell on the commercial market?

Why? Because they have no or too little sex. Sorry, sex scenes are not what makes a good story.

Why? Because they have no singular one-on-one interaction between a man and a woman, a true romance story. Sorry, a true romance is fine--I like them, too--but they're not the only good stories out there.

Every story I've written tells a love story. But some of my full-length novels tell more of the story than just the love part.

COVER BY GEMINI JUDSON

RUNNER-UP IN 2011 P&E READER'S POLL

 

CRYSTAL LAKE REUNION-A young woman in Houston owns a real estate agency with her mother. She loves her mother, and they've always been alone since her father died in combat when she was one month old. The problem is, she learns that her life is not as it seems when she goes to a small town north of Houston--Crystal Lake. There, she slowly learns that she is truly someone else. She meets a young doctor and even though she does most of the research and sleuthing to find her true heritage, he helps and encourages her along the way. It's unfortunate other families and other lives will be disrupted, but she is determined to learn the truth.
And she falls in love.
***This novel has been reduced to 99cents on my request.
http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Lake-Reunion-ebook/dp/B0056BC41G/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382303865&sr=1-7&keywords=celia+yeary

 

HEART OF A HERO-- Matt Carrington escapes a terrorists’ prison while in the Army, but he has difficulty escaping the trappings of a demanding fiancé and his own parents. To get away to think, he meets pretty, girl-next-door Lauren Delaney, the kind of woman he desires. But his fiancé and his parents have other plans, and they determine to have their way—no matter what Matt wants.
Lauren Delaney is an independent young woman who quickly befriends the soldier hero who comes to town. Knowing he has another life in Dallas, she holds a secret, too. But she pretends neither have a problem in order to have the summer with him.
****
Kindle Version: $5.99    http://www.amazon.com/Heart-of-a-Hero-ebook/dp/B0059WEBUO/ref=sr_1_16_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382304200&sr=1-16&keywords=celia+yeary
~*~
Both of these novels received very good reviews, and I'm proud of them.
Both have great covers--Crystal Lake Reunion was a P&E runner-up for best cover.
Both are set in Texas, as are all my stories.
Both have plots that involve other characters.
Both are contemporary Texas--big cities and small towns.

Thank you! Celia