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How to Find Your Way through the Informational Marketing Swamp

Let's say you're a writer who has written acongratulate yourself that you have succeeded
few things that you've tried to getin  getting  past:-  New  York  Editors.
published. Let's say you've even had some
success. You've submitted your novels, short-  New  York  Agents.
story and poem collections, or magazine
articles to New York publishers.After- The US Postal Service (since you didn't
receiving enough reject slips to cover thehave  to mail your manuscript out 500 times).
walls of your two bedroom condominium you
finally managed to place something in an- Your attic trunk (where you've been
obscure publication located 500 miles awaydepositing  your  unsold  manuscripts).
from New York.Don't break out the champagne
yet. It may or may not be a start. It all- Your garage, which is not filled with 5000
depends  on:-  how  well  it  sellsunsold copies of your book.And your
manuscript is now "in front of the public"
-  what  your  next  "masterpiece"  may  bewho are eager to pay for it, download it and
read it. Or is it?Oops...we forgot a few
- how well the editor thinks that it willthings.-  How  are  they  going  to  find it?
sell.You may soon discover that your first
piece didn't sell well and the editor spent-  How  are  they  going  to  pay  for  it?
so much money on it she's not interested in
buying another one from you.And you still- How can they get it into their hands to be
haven't "cracked" New York.Your initialable to read it?Once again, not to belabor
elation at having "finally published" dropsthe point, but we writers want to be read.
rapidly into the psychological gutter, andNot being read is like having ...uh...
you find that you really haven't "left thewithout ...uh...Ok, forget that analogy.To be
gate" at all. You're almost worse off nowread, will you give them what they want?But
than if you had never published in the firstthere's one other thing I forgot to mention.
place. Other editors may shy away from youDoes the public want to read what you want to
because you are not writing "salable"write about? If they don't, then you are
material.Before you raise a disdainfulback to you where you were with the New York
eyebrow at this scenario, let me assure you.editors...trying to sell somebody something
This has indeed happened to more than onethey don't want to read or aren't interested
writer.If only I had one"Hah!" you say. Orin.This is the hardest thing we writers have
maybe it is "Ah hah!" That's the reaction ofto get through our heads. Just because the
discovery. For scientists it's the wordMuse strikes, she doesn't always strike with
"Eureka!"You elicited this reaction when yousomething somebody else wants to read.
discover that real, published authors allSomehow, we have to "find the secret" of
have literary agents, and that nobody in Newdoing both: writing what we want to write
York seriously considers a book that is notabout, and slanting it in a way that will
presented by one.You have also made theappeal to the public.We have to give them
depressing discovery that the creations youwhat they want to read, or we won't be read.
sent to publishers like Harper and RowIt's that simple.Somewhere in the Swamp, the
weren't rejected by the top editors of HarperRevelation Strikes (Good Thing It Wasn't a
and Row, but by an 18 year old high schoolHungry Crocodile)By now the revelation should
graduate sitting in a small cubicle. Herhave struck. If you are going to write,
desk is surrounded by stacks of manuscriptsbypass the middle man, and get your cherished
mailed to her by hopeful writers. The stackswork to the public you are going to have to
nearly reach the ceiling.After finishingbe able to do the "whole thing" -- the whole
reading your manuscript, putting a cannedshillelagh.You are going to have to be:- The
reject note in the SASE you provided, andMarket Researcher. You will have to find out
tossing it on top of the other stamped manilawhat  the  public  wants  to  read.
envelopes overflowing an outgoing bin, she
climbs up on a stool to reach the next- The Writer. You are already that, but you
manuscript, located on top of the nearestneed to be a flexible writer. You are going
stack. Three months ago, yours was at theto have to slant what you want to write so
bottom of that stack.That's why it took sothey  will  want  to  read  it.
long to get your reject slip.To get your
manuscript past this girl and to one of the- The Editor. You're going to have to
top editors, you realize you need a literaryruthlessly edit your own stuff to make it as
agent. So, after submitting your manuscriptclear and easy to read as possible with no
to several prominent New York agents youtypos  and  misspellings.
discover -They only take already published,
famous authors. Ever read the novel- Design and Layout. You are going to design
Catch-22?Guess what? I've got bad news, whichyour book to make it as attractive as
for you, probably isn't news at all...Thepossible.
Self Publishing Non-SolutionMaybe, just
maybe, you can self publish. There are all- The Publisher. You will price the book
kinds of "Vanity Publishers" out there, andand put it in a format that can be downloaded
some do it on a "print on demand" basis,and  read  on  people's  computers.
receiving their orders over the web. Maybe
you are foolish enough to have gone this- The Distributor. You will have to set up
route, in which case you now have:1. A garageyour site so that your customers can pay for
full of unsold books you must distributeit  and  download  it.
yourself.
- The Copywriter. You will have to write
2. A "published" book just waiting to beadvertising  copy  that  will sell your book.
printed  as  soon  as  somebody  requests it.
- Store owner. You have to set up your own
3. Reviewers who won't take youbookstore where your readership will come to
seriously.While option #2 is more desirablebuy it. You have to sell it to them and
than option #1 (since you didn't have tocollect  their  money.
spend $10,000 for the first run of 2000
copies) waiting for somebody to discover your- Promotion. You will have to promote your
book so they will request a printed copybook so that people will want to find your
isn't exactly your idea of "writingstore  and  buy  it.
fulfillment".And, with option #3, there
"ain't no hope" of getting your book- Customer Service. You will have to handle
recognized by magazine reviewers and gettingreturns  and  customer  complaints.
publicity that way.Sadly, nobody takes a
self-published author seriously.The- The CEO and CFO of your own business. You
By-passable Middle ManAnother "Ah hah" (or iswill have to take care of finances, taxes,
it "Eureka"?)You spend a few weeks inand the law.That's not too hard, is it?Deeper
frustration, with or without "writer'sInto the SwampBy now the will-o'-the-wisp has
block", as you contemplate the madness andappeared. That's the apparition of big time
unfairness of the publishing world, hereafterprofits resulting from big time sales (the
referred to as the "information marketinglegendary 6 Figure Income).To follow the
world".We just renamed it ... because the "AHwisp, if we want to write and market our own
HAH" reaction came when -You discovered youbooks, we are going to have to carefully
could publish on the Internet!Dancing aroundplace our feet on each of the stones that
your computer with joy, you realize that thelead to the goal. No missteps and no
Internet allows you to dump all New Yorkskipping.The ghost precedes us, keeping just
editors and agents. They no longer controlout of reach, leading us deeper and deeper
your destiny. Whether or not your book sellsinto the swamp, and we soon realize the task
and is read is now ENTIRELY UP TO YOU.You canis a lot bigger than we thought it was.And we
go directly to the public.For copywriters ...also see that we need a guide -- somebody to
people who write advertising copy ... itshow how to build an entire business that
means you can "write copy without a client".will be a one person show.The Teachers and
You don't have to "cold call" 300 directthe ProductsThere are teachers out there who
marketing advertising companies in the hopehave products designed to help you understand
of finding somebody who will let you writeand accomplish each goal, but none of them
your copy "on speculation".This term means toput it all together. You might say, there's
write it, send it to them, and hope they likea specialist at each stage, but none of them
it well enough to buy it. And sometimes itseem to be a guide that will take you from
results in the discovery that not only didstart to finish.(Note: There are mentors,
they reject it ... they stole it.You canand maybe you will want to connect with one
write salable copy and put it directly inof them. But for the most part they are very
front of the public, who will then buy whatexpensive.)That's why I put up my website,
you have to sell.Or can you?Still Stumblingto identify each of the tasks you must master
Through the Info Marketing SwampStill high onto become an Informational Marketer and to
elated euphoria, you try to learn as much asserve as a map "through the swamp".For each
you can about putting up a website, only toof these tasks there is a book or a software
find that the web is a daunting, confusingprogram designed to show you what to do or
place full of unexplained and esotericprovide you with the resources you need at
terminology.You soon discover that as well asthat stage.The goal, of course, is to have a
being a writer, you may have to become amonetizing website where you actually sell
programmer ... you are going to have to learnyour new book as fast as you can ... and
something about the mysteries of "domains",finally grasp the elusive goal of true
"hosting", and "search enginepublication.And the satisfaction that comes
optimization"... along with an alphabet soupwith it.© John Young All Rights
of technologies: cgi, php, html, asp, etc.ReservedJohn Young is a 62 year old writer
and etc.After managing to find your waywith a programming and scientific background.
through some of this, you are elated to beHe has an affiliate website designed to
able to set up a web site to display yourhelp Informational Marketers find the
book, which you transferred from your atticproducts and software they need to grow their
trunk to the web.Wonderful.It's now in frontbusiness.
of the public, just like you'd hoped. You



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