Ugh . . . marketing! I knew this day would come and I’m not prepared. Well, maybe a little prepared. After all, I have an MA in Communication and took at least one undergraduate course in Public Relations with my all-time favorite professor, Bob Vivian. He was “Professor of the Year” at California State University, Chico and an ex-public relations sports writer extraordinaire. Okay, it was only one PR class and a long time ago and even the best professor for one semester can’t impart the universe.

I did take one class in self-publishing at Whatcom Community College a couple years back. And . . . I did buy “The Complete Guide to SELF-Publishing” by Marilyn Ross & Sue Collier—Fifth Edition, no less! It says on the cover: “EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW to write, publish, promote, and sell your book.” Never mind that I haven’t opened it more than to take a brief overview stroll through the pages. I guess I’d better get off my high hobby horse and start reading. And, I’d better read fast because my book is due out this fall.

Oh, the best I did was a 45-minute phone call with Cami Ostman. From that call I got a crash course in marketing. Thanks Cami, from the bottom of my heart. I at least have a great “to do” list with the essentials and I’m working down my list to get all of my proverbial ducks in a row.

When I set out to write my book I didn’t carefully consider the marketing phase. I probably thought that my book would be so wonderful that one of the big publishing houses would be interested and my only effort would be to get picked up at an airport somewhere for the start of my fabulous book tour. FOFLOL!

Actually, I’m more prepared to write my next two books than to market my soon-to-be-published-by-Village-Books book. It’s likely safe to say that I will never be the Thomas Kincaid of the book marketing world.

My book is a biography of Holocaust survivor Ferdinand J. Fragner. The title, Yishar Koach: Forward with Strength came to me during an interview with Rena Ziegler one of Fred’s good friends. She was talking at the end of the interview about how I had done a great mitzvah—a worthy task—in writing the book. Then, she gave me a blessing and said “Yishar Koach”—literally, “may your strength be firm.”

Well, this was about two plus years into the project and I certainly needed that blessing. As of 2016, I’m in my fifth year of working on the book. But at least now it’s written, edited, with my designer, and out there being reviewed by Chanticleer and Kirkus.

Now, it’s a bit of a waiting game and working with Sam at Village Books to determine a date to do a reading and book signing. I’m also aspiring to do “A book launch and a movie” at the Pickford but I need to first locate a movie that is newly in release and would somehow parallel a theme in Fred’s life.

Oh, by the way, I’ll be doing another blog post on July 31^st and will tell you a bit more about my book and marketing progress. In the meantime, I wish to all you aspiring writers “full strength ahead.”

Author’s Bio:

Susan Lynn Sloan is an author and communications specialist who has lived in Maple Falls, Washington since 2004. Susan was born in Chicago and she’s a transplant from northern California. Her interests include family, gardening, snorkeling, books, and film. Her biography of Holocaust survivor, Fred Fragner, is due out this fall. It’s called Yishar Koach: Forward with Strength. Susan is hoping it will inspire readers to understand the importance of persevering even in the midst of the most daunting challenges.