Welcome to the Free Stuff: Workshops, Stories and Stuff That Comes to Mind

Based on a workshop I gave at the 2011 Maritime Writers' Workshop, the information is dated in some parts and I'm sure some of the links are dead, but the basic concepts for finding a publisher or agent remain the same...some of them still want snail mail submissions. 

Go figure. 

It’s no longer enough for writers to just write books. Increasingly, publishers expect their stable of writers to play a role in marketing their books and, the smaller the publisher, the larger and more crucial that role becomes. It was with this in mind that I wrote the first edition of this book over a decade ago.

I completed the third edition for this book eight years ago, so many of the links no longer work, some of the options are no longer relevant and, definitely, there are many new options for writers to market their books. 

However, this book can still provide a starting point for writers who know nothing about marketing and don’t want to pay thousands of dollars to a marketing agency without first trying a few things on their own. 

The idea behind the book is to provide writers with a quick overview of marketing options offered online and break each into three parts:

• A short description of the option
• How it can be used to market your books
• A list of online resources for further exploration

The book follows a format of define, demonstrate and explore. This allows you to read through the book, pick a handful of options and start using them right away. Most of the options are either free or inexpensive. As you become comfortable with whatever options you’re using, you can add others.

Becoming familiar with, and using, these marketing options step-by-step (without being overwhelmed) will help you identify new options and assess their usefulness in your personal marketing.

Always keep in mind the immortal words of Gangshen Barto: 

“No great product was ever greater than its marketing.”

I started posting the Searching for Peace blogs in December 2014 and into March 2015. All two people who read my blog were astounded by the sheer absurdity of the posts and read them only so they could laugh at me. But that’s OK, I laugh at myself and the blog posts gave three people a reason to laugh.

By the time March rolled around Biff and the Fox still hadn’t found peace, though they’d almost come close somewhere in their minds. So, this is an unfinished story, serialized over several months. Boy…my two readers were pissed.

They said, unison, “We hate you, Biff, for doing this. There’s no ending. Where’s the ending? It’s like losing power just before the end of a mystery movie or missing the last five minutes of a Leafs game when they’re up 5 points and still manage to lose. We want to see how they do that. We want to see how Biff and the Fox either find peace or don’t find peace. Where’s the ending, Biff, where?”

All I can think of is this: Successful or not, if the search for peace ever ends, we’re screwed.