Author Name: Jay Thomas Willis
Book Title(s): Implications For Effective Psychotherapy With African-Americans; As Soon as the Weather Breaks; The Cotton is High; Born to be Destroyed; Paranoid but not Stupid; Why Black Americans Behave as They Do; Hard Luck; When the Village Idiot Get Started; Educated Misunderstanding; The Devil in Angelica.
Marketing Subject: (20 words or less) A Prime Example of One Who Has Been Slow to Market and Promote His Books
I began writing these marketing blogs on November 29, 2010. The same date the Authors’ Marketing Blog made its appearance. I wasn’t aware there were so many ways I could have been marketing my books. It has finally penetrated my consciousness that the only way I can be successful is to actively promote and market my books. I sat around for a long time hoping something miraculous would happen, but it never happened.
I have written twenty-one books, including: Implications for Effective Psychotherapy With African-Americans; Finding Your Own African-Centered Rhythm; A Penny for Your Thoughts; You Can’t Get There From Here; Where the Pig Trail Meets the Dirt Road; Reflections on My Life; The Devil In Angelica; When the Village Idiot Get Started; As Soon as the Weather Breaks; Nowhere to Run or Hide; The Cotton is High and Other Short Stories; God, or Balance In the Universe; Why Black Americans Behave as They Do; Over the Celestial Wireless; Hard Luck; Paranoid but not Stupid; Educated Misunderstanding; Nothing but a Man; Things I Never Said; Born to be Destroyed; Word to the Wise.
But until several months ago I had simply written the books, and sat around on my duff putting very little effort into marketing them. I finally realized what a mistake that was. Had I put more effort into marketing my books a long time ago, who knows how successful I could have been. I firmly believe at this point that I can be a lot more successful if I begin to utilize some of the well-noted approaches to promote and market my books.
I did get the marketing books beginning with my first marketing package from Infinity Publishing. I sent out the postcards, passed out the business cards and bookmarks, and sent out some press releases, but I didn’t take marketing seriously. I still felt there was some type of magic responsible for one’s success, and I either had it or I didn’t. Much like I felt about swimming before I took swimming lessons, and learned it wasn’t a gift or something magical, but something you learned to do by moving your body a certain way and controlling your breathing.
It took a while to figure it out but I am finally able to understand that it takes effort to promote and market my books. I should have figured that out a long time ago, and probably had. The problem was being willing to make an investment.
There are many inexpensive ways to market your book. Somehow I had the notion that you couldn’t promote your book without paying through the nose. This notion was deeply embedded in my unconscious. Unfortunately, when I did make an effort, I ended up seeking professional help from companies who were set up to take rather than provide the necessary services.
By beginning to write these notes it has motivated me to actively involve myself in promoting and marketing my own books. A whole world of possibilities for marketing has been opened up in my mind. From this point forward I will utilize every approach that I feel is viable to help market my books. I will utilize my own advice written in some of these blogs. In a short while I have found much of the information in these blogs most helpful. I will have persistence, perseverance, and fortitude, and not be discouraged so easily.
