The marketing roller coaster

Wouldn't it be grand if every great idea simply sold itself?  Better yet, if every fabulous phrase ever penned (Well, we seldom pen anymore.  I call it "plunk out.") found its way to the eyes of a reader and inadvertently to the change in their pocket, writer's would be free to create and plunk out to their hearts' delight!  Unfortunately for us creative types, to fund our habits, we must market.  Creativity and the inspiration that springboards it is best accomplished in quietude. Marketing, on the other hand, involves telephones and messages.  It involves networking, both personal and virtual.  It involves copiers and envelops. It requires busyness.
While visiting with my sister the other day about an upcoming event and the work required to schedule another, she said, "I thought you liked talking to people."
She is correct.  I do like talking to people, even large groups of people.  It's the asking for permission to talk to them that challenges me!
For instance, I have a friend with a lead on a possible event (That's all the detail you get at this juncture). She gave me a phone number and said, "They are expecting your call." I was excited, but I put it off for a little while and when I did call, the contact was not in.  I have to call back!  I am really resisting the urge to see it as a sign that the event will fall through!
I am beginning to understand why so many people hire others to do their marketing.  I can tell you all the great things about a friend's product, but I keep expecting my books to speak for themselves.  I think they do, once they are read, but they don't call to people from a shelf, or the box in my car!
I'm trying some new things - phone calls for one!  I am also going to implement a newsletter for those folks who don't follow my blogs or Facebook. I am going to keep plodding along, because it's the writing (and the talking) that I love!

Voice Mail

My brother left a message on my answering machine just days before he unexpectedly passed away. It has been nearly four months since we said goodbye. The messages have been piling up. I didn't want to delete his message, but I wasn't courageous enough to listen for it as I deleted the others. I have been waiting for the “right time.” I tend to do that a lot. I put things off in hopes that I will somehow be stronger or more emotionally prepared for the task. Many of those things are left undone. The answering machine wouldn't wait. With only seconds of recording time left, I knew it was time to do the listening – ready or not.

So I listened. It was as if he were phoning me anew. His voice was the same as I remembered – the same inflections, the same pauses, the same dry wit.

The time was right. The message, itself really of no import, brought joy rather than the anticipated pain.

Aren't we blessed to have the gift of time? It truly does heal all wounds. With time, pain lessens and memories become sweeter.

Blessed, too, are we to have the gift of technology. It can help us embrace our gift of time.

I'd Rather be Writing?

Why is it sometimes so hard to write?  When I don't have the time, all I can think about is writing.  When I have the time, here is what I do ...

Turn on the computer and check my email.
Start a load of laundry.
View my checking account balance.
Look on facebook to see if I have any new friends.
Grab a snack.
Check my blog stats.
Check my other email account.
Look to see if I have written anything in the past worthy of posting today.
Google literary agents.
Read the blogs I follow.
Wonder how to get more followers on my blog.
Look for a cute photo to post with a blog I have not yet written.
Bake something.

And the list goes on ...

Excuses?

I'm feeling a bit dumpy - creatively speaking. It could be because I haven't recorded my thoughts in awhile. I usually blame not recording my thoughts on a creative slump. Which comes first?

These are my excuses ...
It's track season.
It's tax season.
Cutting down on carbs means I have to spend more time in the kitchen - and the grocery store.
I am training for a race and that means more time in my running clothes.
Someone needs to work the crossword puzzle.
Laundry.
I have to register for college (for my son who is currently out of the country) and I haven't jumped through those hoops in over two decades!
Discouragement. I got another rejection for my novel today.
Distractions. What are my friends doing on facebook? What are they blogging about? What can I find to eat?
... and so forth.

Just what did I accomplish?

I devoted a day to correspondence. I was not certain what I actually accomplished - a number of tasks fell under the "Correspond" category. Some would seem as though they had nothing to do with correspondence, yet their completion made it easier for me to correspond!

* I cleaned out a cabinet. I dumped outdated catalogs in the trash, dusted the cabinet, and restocked it with mailing labels, envelopes and copy paper. This simple act of de-cluttering freed some parts of my brain!

* I calendared some items and tossed the notes and reminders littering my desk. I have found that keeping an accurate calendar prevents missed deadlines and also frees up space in my brain.

* I deleted old and uninteresting email messages.

* I wrote and published a blog entry about my Christmas gifts.

* I put a new ink cartridge in my printer and plugged it in to my recently refurbished, not quite as good as new, laptop. It worked!

* I printed and filed several online receipts that have been in limbo while awaiting a functioning computer.

* I did the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper to sharpen my word skills.

* I spent time on Facebook.

* I sent text messages to my daughter.

* I composed a scholarship renewal letter for my missionary son.

* I researched scholarship and application deadlines - also for the missionary son.

* I emailed my missionary son.

* I queried three literary agents about my manuscript "A Time to Heal" and I made a spreadsheet to track the queries. I netted three rejections!

* I recorded the correspondence tasks in a notebook and later shared them here!

Fourteen tasks. I suppose the day was fruitful after all.

What I learned?
Those days when you wonder, "Have I done any good?" Make a record of your tasks. You might surprise yourself.