Rachel Allord

I’ve always kind of bristled at the phrase It takes a village to   (fill in the blank) . But sometimes, it does. Before my novel was published I heard so many authors say something like “much of the work happens after the book is published because then you have to market…” and I’d stand there and smile with the phrase to market to market to buy a fat pig, running through my brain because the word market didn’t have much meaning.

Here’s how I define it, what I’ve whittled it down to, at least with books: There are lots of books out there and you want yours to stand out. So many books from all sorts of authors vying for attention—from traditional publishers, to small indie publishers (like mine) to self-published books—and this crazy little thing called marketing can all start feeling impossibly overwhelming. On the one hand, you have to let people know about your book! On the other hand, you don’t want to come across as obnoxious because no one likes it when anyone jumps up and down waving their hands saying, “Look at me look at me look at me!” But in essence, sort of, that’s what marketing is. Except quieter. More savvy and less obnoxious, hopefully. The key is, you want to meet a need. You want to provide a service. But fiction? You may ask. Does fiction really meet a need? Provide a service? Oh hold me back it does. A good story has the ability to provide connection, illumination, and self-reflection. It can teach, restore, encourage, challenge, and deliver hard to digest truths in easy to swallow pieces. Plus, beside all that, it entertains. And that is most definitely a service.

Good stories are told, (or written) and then shared. It does take a village to market (share) a book. In my marketing village, my husband is chief. I’d be nowhere without the chops of my media savvy, marketing husband who takes my half-baked ideas like, “I want the video to look all glowy” and makes it all work.

And I’m thankful for you, my readers, for reading and sharing. Thank you for being such a lovely village.

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