One of the primary requirements of a book proposal is stating the author's provision for marketing his/her book. If it's non-fiction, the platform from which to sell it better be spectacular or carry a guarantee of a niche group who will gobble up the tome.
But we mostly do novels here. Fiction. And nobody yet has figured out how to "successfully" market fiction. I know. I know. A zillion ads for bestsellers, the TV commercials for James Patterson novels, and the hoopla and films for Harry Potter and the Twilight novels flood the screens of your minds. But for the lesser known authors and some debut authors the standard fare of giveaways and social media advertising doesn't cut it.
We've heard over and over again how we authors are the only ones who can sell our novels. That we must troll the market for readers, establish our tribes, clubs, niches, you-name-its. Word of mouth, reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book Distributors, all supposed to draw people to our work. ACFW, RWA, and multiple other various groups designed to unite and combine like-minded writers with similar goals and tasks.
Some authors rave about their publisher's marketing role and others hint at little support from their publisher. It's a given that some marketing must be done by an unestablished author, and in recent times even well-established authors must resort to tapping on the virtual shoulders of social media readers to gain recognition and fandom. "Like" my author page. Find me on "Goodreads". "Follow me" on Twitter. Etcetera.
As a writer and reader, I've become "tainted" in my approach to it all. For readers I doubt any of it is "troubling" or annoying. But for this writer, it often personifies overkill, and I do find it troubling and annoying. I respect authors who must do their best to promote their work, who absolutely must have sales to keep those contracts coming and to keep their livelihoods established. Who doesn't want to do everything possible to sell books? Or establish "friends" and fans? But, geez, the constant promotion, mention, pictures, news, requests for everything mentioned here to help them sell their work? Does it bother anyone else?
Many who do this rarely reciprocate what they require of others. Maybe this bothers me most of all.
I'm not suggesting there's one way to market fiction, but why do publishing houses bother to hire marketing teams if they have no prolific ideas or real contributions to that endeavor? Of course there are exceptions to this, people who do what is required for promoting an author and even beyond the norm. But not many judging from the whispered concerns – and, yes, complaints – of many other authors who stumble and struggle to figure out how to effectively advertise their work. And it shows.
Sometimes the results are embarrassing.
God, we're all desperate for you whether we realize it or not. We're limited. You are not. We're short-sighted. You see the end from the beginning. We're impatient. You tell us to wait. We're sometimes ungrateful. You tell us to always be thankful. Help us all to do what you have for each of us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 
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