30. Word of Mouth

This is a real-time entry, rather than one based on my journal entries from earlier this year.  It’s a review of ‘putting myself out there’, culminating in last week’s big event – the online launch of my Book Trailer and Book launch, when the youtube clips were switched over to PUBLIC, for all to watch and share.                                                       

This was one of my wacky ideas to publicize my book. (Oh my gosh, I didn’t realise that getting the book published is only the first step in a long process of getting it out there !)  Bit by bit, an author needs to keep chipping away at the various strategies to ensure that it actually has a chance of being read.

Maybe you remember the stages I’ve gone through along the way to putting myself out there?  There was blog post 5, in which I declared, “I don’t want to go out there in the big scary world and expose myself.”

There was the youtube clip of me telling a parable to my grandchildren, about being my whole self in the world: I just checked the other day, and in a few months this clip has been viewed 1,427 times!  I had to sit down when I read this figure.  Who is watching this and how do they get to know about it? Word of mouth?

Blog post 13 had me wrestling with the ambivalence of publicising my book, frequently reverting back to thoughts of my preference to hide under a rock. 

Gradually, gradually, something inside me reconciled with the idea of being able to put my book out there, not knowing if there will be any result or not. So I arrived at the book launch,  a wonderful night of celebration with family and friends, which was made into a movie taster for the online launch last week.

Making my own movie for my book trailer was another step. I know that, once I get organised and load it onto all the book sites, this will be out in cyberspace for all time.

In the olden days, news was spread through word of mouth, but nowadays this phenomenon has multiplied exponentially through social media and search engines on the internet. In case you missed the movies, here are the links, or just search on Youtube for Barbara Cook author.

Book trailer –   https://youtu.be/7FOoLlppAAM

7 minute taster BOOK LAUNCH https://youtu.be/-cp9-_dRw-s

COMPLETE Book Launch https://youtu.be/kgPQpBCtbqQ

This Sunday I’ll be at the Airey’s Inlet market as guest of Great Escape books at their “Meet the Author” guest spot. It’s all a bit bizarre, as I don’t really think of myself as an author just yet. I’m nervous but also looking forward to speaking to people about our shared insights. This kind of gig feels friendly, honest and real. However a lot of the marketing advice I’m reading about has me squirming (Free giveaways!  ‘Tell them they need to take action and buy your book!’  “Like someone’s social media so that they will like you back!” )   Errgghhh !   I know this is backed up by research, but a lot of it feels like FORCING to me – not my cup of tea.

I’m having a bit of fun coming up with creative ideas to help my book find its readers, but I’m hoping to stay attuned to what feels right and real for me.