Think big: promotion and connection

by Claire Belberg

I love writing – poetry, short stories, devotionals, essays, articles. What I don’t enjoy is having to market my own work and myself as an author.

My first novel was published in 2017. I had read a lot of advice about getting my work known but I could not see myself spending that much time doing promotional work (and learning how to use all the platforms). The very thought sickened me. ‘Why can’t I just do what I’m good at and have someone who’s good at marketing do that for me?’ I moaned. God heard my groans and we came to an agreement – He would open the doors and I would walk through.

With each book, I find that the overwhelming has become a little easier, a bit less gut-twisting for me. With my latest book, Unravelling: loving my parents through dementia, marketing has been more natural because the focus of this nonfiction book is something relevant to a lot of people. It’s easier to talk about a story based on my own life because there’s a natural flow from experience to book.

Part of my stress has been using the number of book sales as a marker of success. Try as I might, I can’t seem to get much attention for my work. Several times over the years I have considered aiming lower – an article here or there, just publishing for the family, etc. Each time, God made it clear that His plans were bigger than I was seeing. Recently I have recognised that my measure of success is faulty. ‘Bigger’ doesn’t have to mean more outlets, more sales, more speaking opportunities. With my current book, it means meeting people where they’re at, one person at a time. Most of my book sales are because I spoke personally to someone, sharing our common experience. 

God and I still work by our original arrangement – that He will provide opportunities and I will take up each one. I get to do some cool things, and I’m becoming more confident to try new approaches. My most recent example was being invited to run a poetry workshop at a dementia retreat, encouraging carers to express their strong feelings without hurting anyone. I love the fact that when I tell my story to a group, there is always someone who wants to share theirs too, having identified with mine. That person-to-person connection makes the book richer for them, and does a deeper work of ‘companionship for the journey’ (the book’s goal) than merely buying it online. Don’t get me wrong – all those other sales methods are great when they get someone’s attention – but the personal touch feels truer to who I am, and brings a sense of connection to me and the buyer.

I’m still hopeful of more sales because my little book is able to touch hurting people who often feel alone in their dementia care role. But if person-to-person remains the primary promotional method, that’s okay by me.

(Image credit: AI generated by Imagineers Studio via Canva)

Claire Bell writes poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction and novels for mainstream audiences under the pen name of Claire Belberg. She is based in the Adelaide hills where she lives with her husband. She loves birds and is grateful to have access to large green spaces which refresh her sense of wonder. Her latest book is Unravelling: loving my parents through dementia, a memoir in poetry of recent challenging years, written as a companion for others on a similar journey. You can contact her on bellwriting@gmail.com, visit her Facebook author page (Claire Belberg author) and her unintentionally sporadic blog, The Character Forge (clairebelberg.wordpress.com).