Susie May here:  I’m super excited to announce a new marketing series at MBT:  One Thing Marketing, written by my amazing publicist, Owner and Founder of Litfuse Publicity Group! She not only runs one of the hottest book marketing companies on the market, but Amy is just brimming with great marketing ideas.  Look for some marketing specials from Litfuse too, as the series continues! Thank you Amy!!

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Hello … and welcome to the brand new One Thing Marketing column on My Book Therapy!

This is Amy Lathrop from Litfuse Publicity Group. Susie May asked me to come on board to share some of the tips and best practices I’ve got rattling around in my head. I’m honored and thrilled to have this chance to connect with the MBT community! In my weekly posts I’ll be tackling the time suck that is Marketing and Publicity (henceforth known as M&P) and breaking down tasks in manageable bite-sized chunks. Each week’s column will offer up “One Thing” you can do each week to build your platform, connect with readers/reviewers, and garner some exposure for you and your latest book or WIP.

Before I launch into this week’s One Thing Tip, I’d like to share a little about my “WHY.”

I started Litfuse six years ago with one passion: to free authors up to write. I have a degree in creative writing and editing and thought I would go on to be a writer. (Well, actually a poet. Clearly, I was fine with being poor all my life.) But, I soon realized that my passion wasn’t writing, but rather helping people who write. Litfuse began as an author assistant business and grew to become a full M&P firm. Being an author assistant allowed me a double-sided view of the publishing world. I saw what publishers expected from authors and what authors expected from their publishers in regards to marketing and publicity. These mutual expectations often created gaps of crucial tasks that never got done because of time/budget/inexperience. My business grew by filling in those gaps. Authors need to write (that requires time) and publishers need to sell more books (that requires publicity) – so I partnered with authors to perform virtual assistant work (answer reader mail, project-manage marketing/publicity campaigns, blog, social media, databases, newsletters, create buzz, etc.), and with publishers to market and publicize books.

Now on to…FINDING YOUR WHY

This may seem really basic. Almost too basic. But, before writing the first word in your manuscript you must start with ”Why?” Why are you writing, why does your reader need to hear your message, who are you hoping to impact?

You may be saying, “I write fiction; I’m just telling a story.” But at the heart of every story is a motivation. If you’re a writer, telling stories is part of your story. As the storyteller you have your own motivation (much like your characters). If you don’t start with WHY long before you get to marketing and publicity, you’ll just be another voice clambering to be heard. You’ll waste money and time trying to entice people to buy and read your books. Only your WHY will create a compelling platform and brand for your work.

In Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why, he says, “Those who start with WHY never manipulate; they inspire. And people follow them not because they have to; they follow because they want to.” You can see the truth in that statement by looking at authors who have a clear purpose and message for their writing and life. They have branded themselves well with their WHY and readers are drawn to their books.

What about you? Have you found your WHY?

Your One Thing for the week is to evaluate your WHY. Ask yourself these four questions (Adapted from Start With Why):

1. Why do you write? (Start with “I believe….”)
2. How do you write? (How do you think about writing, and what are your guiding principles?)
3. What do you do? (What steps are you taking to become published or get another contract?)
4. What are your goals?

Your answers should be short and concise. Put your answers away for a week – then take another look. Does what you wrote still ring true? If not, re-evaluate and try again.

Next week I’ll talk about mission statements and why they’re important.

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Litfuse Publicity Group exists to create a stir in the marketplace for our clients. Visit our site and you will soon discover something unique. We love our clients. We offer a wide variety of services ranging from blog tours, media PR, social media and Facebook launch parties, interactive websites, blog development, author assistants, custom apps, event planning, marketing, and more. If you need your own nest put in order, look no further. Go ahead, put all your eggs in one basket and contact one of the hens today, www.litfusegroup.com.