by Becca Kinzer, @BeccaKinzer

In 2019 I put together my first book proposal. I had a blast coming up with the story hook. I loved polishing those first few chapters. Shoot, I didn’t even mind writing the synopsis. I couldn’t wait to get a professional in the publishing industry excited about my book. . . until I got to the marketing section. 

How was I planning to market my book? Oh boy. Okay. Um . . . well, yeah, obviously I’m planning to market my book. That’s, uh, definitely part of the plan. Marketing. And I do have a plan. Well no, not an actual plan. More like a plan to make a plan when, you know, I have more people on my newsletter list than just my mother.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. (All my aunts had subscribed too.) The point is my platform was small. Embarrassingly small. Laughably small. As an unpublished author it pained me to include those tiny numbers into a marketing strategy. I knew nobody (except maybe my mother and aunts) would be impressed with those numbers. 

But then a marvelous thing happened. 

I found an agent and publishing house who cared more about my story than my numbers. Then when it came time for the story to get published, another marvelous thing happened. 

The people in my life—not online social media followers, but real people I’d had face to face interactions with throughout the years, such as coworkers, church friends, former high school classmates, coaches, teachers, old college friends, new friends, writing friends, family friends, dental hygienists, you get the idea—were all excited that someone they knew was getting a book published. 

So you know what they did? They helped spread the word. And not just through social media. I mean they actually talked to people. Real people. People in their book clubs. People who had connections to libraries. People who owned independent bookstores. People who loved reading. People who don’t love reading but should give this book a try because it’s written by that nurse who works over on the neuro unit, maybe you know her.

This was a marketing strategy I couldn’t have planned out in a proposal. A platform I couldn’t have placed a specific number on. But it’s a valuable marketing strategy and platform we all have, and one we tend to neglect. The real people in our real lives. 

Sure, it’s fun to watch our social media and newsletter numbers climb. It’s measurable. It shows progress. We feel like we’re accomplishing something. But sometimes when we get caught up in the numbers, we forget something important. Something Allen Arnold touches upon in his book Waves of Creativity.

“God loves great stories. His favorites, however, aren’t the ones we write, paint, or sing. They are the stories we’re living.”

Don’t you just love that quote? It reminds us that our greatest platform, our greatest marketing strategy, isn’t about numbers and online followers. It’s about showing up faithfully to our day jobs. Getting to know our coworkers. Investing in our friendships. Taking time to talk to our neighbors. Volunteering at our kids’ schools. Attending a small group at our church. It’s about building relationships and making genuine connections with people.

Because who knows? Maybe someday one of those people you’ve connected with over the years will need the type of hope your story offers. But maybe the reason they pick up your book isn’t initially because they’re intrigued by the story you’ve written. They’re intrigued by the story you’re living. They’re intrigued by you.

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Dear Henry, Love Edith

He thinks she’s an elderly widow. She’s convinced he’s a grumpy old man. Neither could be further from the truth.

After a short and difficult marriage, recently widowed Edith Sherman has learned her lesson. Forget love. Forget marriage. She plans to fill her thirties with adventure. As she awaits the final paperwork for a humanitarian trip to South Africa, she accepts a short-term nursing position in a small Midwestern town. The last thing she needs is a handsome local catching her eye. How inconvenient is that?

Henry Hobbes isn’t exactly thrilled to have Edith, who he assumes is an elderly widow, dumped on him as a houseguest for the summer. But he’d do almost anything for his niece, who is practically like a sister to him given how close they are in age. Especially since Edith will be working nights and Henry works most days. When he and Edith keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes―short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives.

By the time Henry realizes his mistake―that Edith is actually the brown-eyed beauty he keeps bumping into around town―their hearts are so intertwined he hopes they never unravel. But with her departure date rapidly approaching, and Henry’s roots firmly planted at home, Edith must ultimately decide if the adventure of her dreams is the one right in front of her.

Reminiscent of the beloved classic You’ve Got Mail comes a delightful new romantic comedy about mistaken identities, second chances, and finding love in unexpected places.

Becca Kinzer works as a critical care nurse in Illinois. When she’s not taking care of sick patients or trying to convince her husband and two kids that frozen chicken nuggets is a gourmet meal, she spends her time making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. Dear Henry, Love Edith is her debut novel.