The book has been out for almost 2 weeks now and it’s gone well! I’ve gotten the word out to my immediate circle effectively. Just about every sale I’ve had has come from those much-appreciated people. Now comes the hard part, getting those who don’t know me to give me a shot.

Marketing is a much different animal from the rest of the book making process. Writing is what I do. It’s what I’m most comfortable with. That’s where I feel I’m in the most control and where I can let my head and my heart guide my story. Getting to do a public signing is proving to be much more difficult than I had anticipated.

Then comes getting the book ready for the public. That is an incredible amount of work. Tons of reading and revision along with many technical hoops to jump through to get a finished product. This section has it’s up and downs. Sometimes it felt like I’d never finish but each stage of the project that got finished, felt like an accomplishment. As more gets done, the vision of the final result gets easier to see. Once the cover is done? That’s the biggest visual representation and it’s a great feeling. I don’t like all the technical aspects of this process though. Ticking all of the checkmarks Amazon requires (any publisher, really) to make sure everything is right can feel like rolling down a hill that will never bottom out.

Getting the book in hand is hard to describe. It’s a sense of accomplishment I haven’t felt since graduating college. I’ve seen it all on a screen for years. I’ve seen every chapter printed out onto standard paper size more times than I can count. But to have it all put together with all the flourishes and specs all measured out correctly in my hands is something else. I can say that his object, this work, is part of me.

So now I’m working on getting the word out even farther. Totally different job from the rest. It takes a lot of research and work. It also means engaging people in a way I’ve never had to on a personal level. I have to sell my wares, my work, me in essence. Hey, look at this! Look what I’ve made! It’s totally worth your time and money! Tell a friend! Marketing these days means spreading yourself over the internet, which is tough to do. Engagement means a lot. Just making an account on a site, making one post to sell the book, doesn’t really do anything. There’s no engagement there. It comes off as spam which does you no favors and can look bad.  Reaching out to those you know is much easier and rewarding. That’s the way I struck a deal with my local comic book store, The Joker’s Child, to carrying my book. Actual brick and mortar retail space! I’ve known Caren and Len for ages and they have been happy to help me get my work out to the public. That’s been a lot of fun and very exciting.

This second wave of marketing is what’s brought up my Iconic Image ideas. As you can see with Pennywise from IT just above, I’ve got a bunch of images in the pipeline to filter out in the next few weeks to keep things fun and interesting. This also keeps my creative mind in gear as I come up with concepts and lines for each one. I want them all to be funny/weird to get the most attention. Just plastering text of “My book is available!” gets old real fast. We’ll see how well it does in the coming weeks.

I’ve gotten great responses so far. Everyone loves the cover and every person I’ve given a business card to goes “Oh wow.” I have 4 five star reviews on Amazon right now! The most amazing part is that one of them, I have no idea who it is! I don’t know the name at all and they really liked it! Strangers picking it up is so exciting and scary at the same time. I’m still getting those weird waves of doubt and fear about the public at large being able to read it, but those moments are fleeting.

Onward and upwards!