Book Marketing Class 1

Write to Market or Write to Magic? How to Choose Your Path

Your book’s marketing plan should start long before your first chapter

Image source: adobestock.com / Author’s subscription

This post is not behind the pay wall, so it can be sent to anyone.

There are two schools of thought about marketing an unwritten book. Some authors are 100% sure books should be “written to market.” Others believe in writing from the heart, publishing, and letting the chips fall where they may.

Plot Twist: You Should Market Your Book Before You Even Write It

Writing to market simply means writing and marketing a book in a way that meets reader expectations for a particular genre. Create If Writing

I have written seven books and a chapter in a woman’s engineering textbook on “The Imposter Syndrome”. Four books were “written to market”; two were naturally marketed, and the last used a hybrid marketing strategy I developed. All books required work to sell, no matter which system I used.

The time to decide which way to market your book is while you are deciding what to write and who your audience is.

For example, the women’s textbook chapter was an obvious choice for writing to market, and the third book in my memoir series was also written to market. The focused, planned marketing strategy did not materialize until the third book was written and published.

Every aspect of marketing the textbook was planned from concept onward. Few, if any, thoughts of marketing occurred during the writing of my first and second book. You see, I took a " Write a Book in 90 Days " course for my first book. I repeated what I learned on my second book. We were taught how to market the book once it was written, so my first two books were presented in that way.

I wrote the third book using “write to market” with two other writers. All of us had written at least two books. One writer had written to market before, so she was our guide. It was exhilarating to learn how to think about marketing the book before it was written. We began our new adventure with a guide who had a map.

How Do You Market A Book Which Only Exists In Your Imagination

Which way is better? I have learned that it reallly depends on the writer. Some writers are designed/built to use write-to-market techniques; others are just as successful without them. My goal for the first class is to help authors decide how they want to market their creation — write to market, natural marketing, or a hybrid.

Here is the deal: I am teaching a series of short marketing classes for the Garden of Neuro. Each class focuses on marketing at different stages. Each class stands alone and is only $30 bucks or $100 for all four. Each class is one hour long, with a 20-minute question-and-answer section.

The classes are:

1. What to consider about marketing before you write your book? Tuesday, April 21, from 6 to 7 pm

2. What marketing to consider as you write your book? Tuesday, April 28, from 6 to 7 pm

3. How to prepare to launch your book. Tuesday, May 05, from 6 to 7 pm

4. How to launch your book or to relaunch your book. Tuesday, May 12, from 6 to 7 pm

Week 1 — How Do You Market A Book Which Only Exists In Your Imagination Tuesday, April 21, 6 to 7pm

Great book marketing starts long before the first chapter is written. This week helps students understand the market, the audience, and the genre that shapes the book. Authors often make the mistake of not understanding their target audience before ever putting the first word on the page. Do you write to market or do you write to magic?

Each week, I will publish the upcoming class in hopes of attracting students. This post is not behind the pay wall, so it can be sent to anyone.

Week 2 — Build an Audience While You Build Your Story

Marketing during the writing phase builds momentum, grows your audience, and ensures you’re not launching to an empty room. More than that, it solidifies in your mind what you are trying to achieve and who you are trying to reach with your ideas. @

Week 3 — Actions to Take to Get Ready to Launch Your Book

A successful launch is built on meticulous work 8 weeks before release day. These weeks focus on preparing the foundation, systems, and audience needed to launch without horrific chaos. There will be chaos, but it won’t be horrific, lol.

Week 4 — Launch Day: Market Like You Meant To All Along

This is the week when all the teaching comes together. Everything goes live. Students learn how to execute a launch plan that builds momentum, drives sales, and sets their book up for long‑term success.

There are two scholarships available for the April class series. One through me and one through the Garden of Neuro. I’ve given mine out already for this session, but there may still be one in the Garden of Neuro so contact @Susan Bearly. I will sponsor at least one scholarship wherever I teach.

My current plan is to teach four times a year, once each quarter. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, sign up. If you’re trying to figure out whether to write to market or follow your natural style, my class walks you through both paths so you can choose with confidence.

[embed]Toni Crowe — Medium Read writing from Toni Crowe on Medium. Sharing the hard lessons I’ve learned in life. Adding truth in a time of lies…tonicrowewriter.medium.com

Multiple cats have owned Toni Crowe, all of them clever creatures. Read humorous stories about her cats in her book, Hey Hue-Man Where Is Our Food. You will laugh out loud. Available on Amazon.

Click the image below to buy Toni’s memoir books.

Image by Toni Crowe ©All Rights Reserved

Image by Toni Crowe ©All Rights Reserved