“Where’s the marketing on MarketingtheMuse Curriculum?”

Not all the time - a fact true 'then' as it is 'now.'

If you’re a celeb, you get a pass.

If you’re an expert, the right agent will take you on and with skill/luck, find the right editor to bring your expertise to the page.

If you’ve lived through horror, publishing a book may be the beam of light at the end of your dark tunnel. If living through it hasn’t compromised your mental/physical health, (or even if it has) if you can’t write the horror but want to tell your story, chances are there’s a ghostwriter and/or agent willing to take you on in hopes of translating your horror into a bestseller.

This is always been true in publishing. We love celebs, we crave answers to life’s problems and who among us hasn’t slowed down to watch a train wreck? Marketers sell. The best sell anything including ‘get published quick if you buy my products’ pitches.

So writers, beware of e-marketers masquerading as writers. They pitch a strong case about publishers taking the lion’s share of a working stiff author’s profits. They promise that you will keep most of the money earned from your book but first, you must buy their book, or series of books, or webinars or whatever they're selling. 

A major reason why our industry is on its knees is lack of foresight. Publishing insiders learned too late that the web was changing their business model. They did not want to see the web for what it was because they believed the publishing game was rigged in their favor. Turns out, they were wrong.

The web has changed some rules

Writers now have the opportunity to build our writing careers online. These e-building blocks will support all of our books once published. The web gives us a chance to make names for ourselves, build relationships, network with potential readers. All of this exciting and why I’ve expanded MarlaMiller’com platform to include my writing as well as shine lights on your writing and the writing/work of authors ahead of you and me on the publishing curve.

But you won’t find any ‘get published quick’ opportunities here. At MarlaMiller.com’s MarketingtheMuse you will find opportunity to improve, a few tools to help you along, some role modeling from established authors marketing their muse with success and cheerleading from yours truly to become the best writer you can be. Isn’t this why we write? Also true then and now: we don’t do it for the money.

Marketers are worth knowing;  Seth Godin is among the VERY best. I highly recommend all writers subscribe to his blog, http://sethgodin.typepad.com, but for the most part, the scads of marketers out there promising publication are selling their products so writers, please be aware. Not always but often the only writer benefitting long term is the marketer who penned the book you just purchased and now can’t quite understand.  

We’ve added a link to Writer Beware blog--another ‘writer must’ subscription. Proceed cautiously when the promises sound too good to be true because usually, they are.  Writer Beware co founders Victoria Strauss and Ann Crispin will guest on my January 8^th radio show to talk about writers doing business on the web.