Message Rain
  • Home
  • About us
    • Legal Entity & Privacy Policy
    • Our Messages >
      • I don't blame you
      • Please
      • That takes ovaries!
      • Sacred Sexuality
      • We blame Glenn!
  • Guide
  • Books & Essays
    • a man wearing a dress >
      • About This Book
      • Ordering
      • Excerpts
      • Study Guide
      • Note from the author
      • Bookseller Info
      • Promotional Items
    • Still Life (without the vase)
    • Poetry Looks at Itself
    • Essays & Commentary
  • Events
    • Workshops
    • Scheduling
  • Blogs
    • Announcements
    • Gender Blog
    • Topic Blog
    • Good News Department
    • Inner Blog
  • Other Products
    • Stickers
    • T-Shirts
    • Buttons
  • Support
  • Sister Sites
  • Contact Us

The Home Stretch

12/30/2016

1 Comment

 
Well, the end is in sight!  So far, I have written over 200 pages of my first book, "a man wearing a dress."  I think I have about 10 more pages to write before editing and revisions begin in earnest.

After that, the book itself will be done, but there will be a lot of work to do before I can say it's published.  At least I have designed the cover and the interior of the book already.  Once I have all that in final form, there are the 'middle tasks,' such as get a copyright, an ISBN, and a Library of Congress number.  I will I have to put that information on the back cover (the ISBN) and the other information on the back of the title page.  Then print a proof copy, just to make sure.

Then comes the major work of a distribution plan, and a promotion plan.  With modern 'print on demand' services, at least I don't have to invest in a massive press run and risk ending up with a basement full of unsold copies if sales don't go well.  On the other hand, print on demand means that I earn less income per book sold.  Sure, I'm doing all this because I was inspired to write.  But at the same time, I have been living off savings, for the most part, over the past few years so I'd like to recoup some or all of my financial investment and have something left for retirement!  So if sales go well, I'll have to make the decision whether or not they will continue to go well, and whether or not a press run is worthwhile.  This is the delicate balancing act involved with any marketing effort.

As for publicity, it's a whole new world compared to what it was when I was growing up.  In those days, publicity was hard because the means of getting the word out were expensive and time consuming (printing, mailing, long distance phone calls, etc.).  Now, it's hard for completely different reasons.  Now, with modern information networks, it's easier to send out the word, but much harder to get noticed precicely because it's that much easier for everyone else who wants to promote something!  Our Email boxes are full, our eyes are gazed over from an onslaught of ads and promotions - literally hundreds per day!

So, how do I get noticed amidst all that noise?  The answer is to "work smarter, not harder."  As I have never done this before (this is my first book), I have a learning curve to go through and a practice: To follow my intuition! (practice, practice, practice!).  But overall, I'm optimistic.  As I've just written in the Topic Blog, I expect 2017 to go better than 2016 has.
1 Comment

    Glenn Koenig

    I'm a social activist who still needs to pay the mortgage, eat, and do the laundry.  But, more than that, I'm a love activist.  I want to make life better without having to say there's anything wrong with it now.

    Archives

    October 2022
    April 2022
    December 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    September 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    April 2014
    September 2013
    June 2013
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Categories

    All
    Starting Up

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly