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Good Enough

Nov 11, 2014
by Caroline Miller
Betty Crocker, Blogs, marketing, marketing persona, masks, Mrs. Sees
6 Comments

Yesterday a friend called and by her hesitant manner, I knew she wanted a favor.  Eventually, she got to her point.  She wanted me to have coffee with her friend who was writing her first book and who wanted my advice on how to proceed.  I agreed to meet this friend, of course.  Advice comes cheap enough. But each time someone wants me to coach them about becoming a writer, I feel like a fraud.   I’m not a success myself.  If I had to live off my sales, I’d starve. What’s more, there’s no trick to publishing a book these days.  I’ve said it many times: electronic printing makes publishing within almost anyone’s reach.  The trick is to sell books once they’re in print, and that takes marketing know-how which I don’t have.

 To begin with, who reads my work is a mystery to me.  Recently, l came in for a shock when a longtime blog subscriber asked me to unsubscribe him.   I don’t know why.  Was he bored?  Or had I said something to give offense?  Of late, I’d written about a 90 year-old Madame who was still providing leggy “companions” for the rich and famous. (Blog 9/29/14)  I thought the story was amusing,  but perhaps my blog reader didn’t agree. Perhaps, he was offended by what I’d written.  Which returns me to my point about marketing.  The first question a writer should ask is what persona does he or she wish to project?  Astute marketers are careful about their image.  To attract readers who will buy their books, they project a face that is friendly and without controversy.  They could be axe murderers in reality.  The point of a persona is to remain hidden.           

I see nothing wrong in being careful with one’s image, by the way.  That’s the point of marketing.  But  turning myself into  Betty Crocker or Mrs. Sees isn’t what I’m about.  At 78, I have warts like everyone else.  I ask my readers to forgive me if my views diverge from theirs; but they mustn’t ask me to pretend.      

Am I behaving with integrity to complain of masks?  Or am I a fool to forget we all wear one?  

 I regret I’m not old enough to have answers to my questions, and they are important if one intends to be a successful writer.  Nonetheless, the bulk of my life has been spent in self discovery.  Who am I as a person?  How to chose a face as a writer, baffles me — which is why I am the last person to give anyone marketing advice.  All I know is that I chose to be myself and I hope that will be  good enough for my readers.   

Courtesy of 30secondrule.wordpress.com

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6 Comments
  1. Christine Webb November 11, 2014 at 8:59 am Reply
    "This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." ... Perhaps, not always easy, but always preferable...
    • Caroline Miller November 11, 2014 at 2:20 pm Reply
      And who would argue with Shakespeare?
  2. Susan Stoner November 11, 2014 at 9:49 am Reply
    What I understand from reading lots of articles on the subject is that the problem, dear Caroline, lies not in your lack of marketing skills, it lies in your lack of marketing money and contacts. I had one distributor turn my books down unless I could show I had over $30K to put towards marketing in the first six months. I observe that media outlets trip over themselves to promote the books of huge publishers even when those books are lackluster. So, we outside the dominate book marketing machine, must nibble away at the edges. There is good news. The stats are showing that us "outsiders" are beginning to establish track records of slowly building fan bases that endure over time. And time is the key, just look at how long it took Moby Dick to grab the readers' imaginations. And, Caroline, do continue to mentor. People need to understand that they must seek their rewards from the writing itself and from those encounters with strangers who say they love your work. Anything more is a unexpected bonsus.
    • Caroline Miller November 11, 2014 at 2:59 pm Reply
      I am certain you are right on the money, Susan -- pun intended. Time and persistence are a writer's greatest sills besides knowing how to tell a story. I have the persistence, but do I have the time? Younger writers do have both and your comment should be eye opening for them and, I hope, encouraging.
  3. Pamela November 11, 2014 at 10:59 am Reply
    Very nicely articulated, Caroline. I appreciate and celebrate your authenticity. It's the code I've adopted, too. It is far too difficult to hide things or put forth a personae. I did that at one point in my life, and realized that people became twice as angry when I wasn't the person they expected me to be. If this translates into lost (and/or offended) readers, I have accepted that.
    • Caroline Miller November 11, 2014 at 3:01 pm Reply
      Pamela, you are so young and so wise. I know you have a great writing career ahead of you.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published five novels

  • Getting Lost To Find Home
  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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