Oak Tree Press

As usual, the writers at my publisher, Oak Tree Press, are busy.  With such a diverse group of writers and genres, it's no surprise that their promotional events and activities are just as diverse.  Here is a link to the Friday Roundup, which lists what some of the writers are doing for promotion just this week. http://otpblog.blogspot.com/

Most people have no idea how much work a writer needs to do after the book is published.  Yes, writing a book takes a lot of time and hard work.  Whether the writer is a panster or plotter, nobody can just sit at a computer and have a novel or short story mysteriously appear.  Not even a mystery.

Long hours, tears, cursing, coffee, maybe whiskey or tequila, depending upon the writer, may go into the first step of the writing process.  That first step is getting the thing on paper.  Despite the agony that may sometimes be involved--the birthing process is never easy--writers enjoy it.  This is what we love to do. It isn't work, no matter how difficult it may become. 

Can't figure out the next step in the plot? Realize the ending lacks focus? The beginning doesn't have a hook? Another character is needed? Doesn't matter. Writers work through it, because we love writing too much to give up.  Would a mom give up on weaning her child from a bottle just because it's hard? Or potty-training? Of course not.  If that were the case, the world would be full of adults drinking beer from baby bottles while wearing adult diapers.

Then more hours, but maybe a few less tears and cursing, go into the editing process.  If the writer already has a publisher, the next step, waiting for the manuscript to be returned for edits, can be a painful couple of weeks or months.  If the writer doesn't have a publisher, the wait for answers to queries can be a painful couple of months or years, or in some cases, a wait for something that never happens.  Not every publisher bothers to respond.

A good publisher will also ask for a marketing plan around this time.  That's the business end of writing, the part most of us don't enjoy.  I'm a FICTION writer.  Marketing is NON-FICTION, something I have no interest in writing.  Too bad for me.  The marketing plan is the first step of promotion.

This tells the publisher how and to whom the writer plans to sell the book.  The publisher wants to know that the writer has a target audience, knows who that target audience is, and how the writer plans to reach that target audience. 

This is the point where the work truly begins.