Your Book is Only the Beginning

Beginning? No way.

I finished it.

My book is done.

I worked hard.

I’m tired.

I’m done.

My book is DONE!

What else is there?

…Oh, no.

I get it now.

You’re going to talk about…

Marketing.

I’m not a marketer.

I’m…

I’m…

…a storyteller.

Exactly.

So tell your story.

The whole story.

Your book is only the beginning.

I’ve been a storyteller for a long time. My late mother, Elinor, was a screenwriter who homeschooled me in the family craft. I’ve also been a marketer for a long time—the repurposing of those storytelling skills after I left the entertainment industry more than 30 years ago.

The problem many Christian authors have with marketing isn’t marketing itself. It’s what we think the word means.

Shouting, “Buy my book!” isn’t godly.

Fortunately, it isn’t marketing either.

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value. At its heart are relationships and service. As Christians, those ideas should sound familiar.

In this ongoing series, we’ll explore how our books become something larger than books. They become what I call the Enhanced Offering—the complete experience of value we create for readers before, during, and after they finish the last page.

I write Christian science fiction.

Like you, I have a writing ministry.

Like you, I’d like to sell more books.

Those goals aren’t in competition. In fact, I believe they strengthen one another.

I don’t have all the answers.

I’m exploring, experimenting, succeeding, failing, and sharing what I learn in real time.

So if you’re willing …

Let’s learn together.

Because your book isn’t the finish line.

Your book is only the beginning.