When You're Tired of Marketing...

Burned out?

Want to be writing but feel as if you need to market if you want anyone to read your book?

I know the feeling.

Just yesterday as I was getting the word out about my new audio release, I thought, "When was the last time you wrote other than on your blog?" And I really, really had to think about that. And do you know, it's been two weeks!

Writing on a blog and in my journal is always a good thing, but if I want to get my book finished I know I'll need to focus more on it than a couple of times a month :)

How about you?

If you were to keep track of your writing vs. marketing, which side would win out?

Hopefully, you're writing just as much or more than you're marketing and (unlike me) your marketing hasn't begun to overshadow what you love to do, because, if you're not careful, you'll find yourself scrambling to get a few words on paper that don't include your grocery list.

Sometimes we have the opposite dilemma. We're tired of marketing and do very little of it. We'd rather be writing. And this is good. Our body is saying, "Take a load off, do some writing." And if we do a few weeks of solid writing, maybe even a month or two, we may find ourselves needing to get back to marketing.

But what if this isn't true with you? What if, after spending months away from marketing, you find you have no desire to return to it. You're a writer after all. Why split it doing something you really don't enjoy?

I have a writer friend that feels like that, and maybe it's not such a bad idea that she knows this about herself.

 

If you're feeling the same way, consider what it would mean if you spent a shorter amount of time marketing; say, limiting yourself to half an hour a day, or two hours a week. Seek out someone who enjoys marketing. Have them do most or all of your marketing for you. (I would suggest that you still remain faithful to social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn). But have your PR guru schedule your book signings, interviews, book releases, etc.

The important thing is that you are still connecting with your readers; they know you are there and that you are interested in sharing your books and your writing life with them. And if that means having someone get the postcards out for you for your next signing, or having them work with you on your marketing campaign, do it!

A lighter load is always easier to lift.