I’ve been working at book marketing. I hired a virtual assistant company a few months ago and learned a lot from the two wonderful people I worked with. I still have some help but due to trying to be fiscally responsible, I have taken on more of the work with all I’ve learned. I’m incredibly indebted to Tyler and Bonnie. I’ve learned so much but more than that I made some friends who also love the Lord. We pray for and encourage each other as well as deal with the tasks. What a blessing on so many levels.

Most authors hate marketing. At least I do. I don’t like promoting ME. It’s a tough world with so many voices everywhere but I need to help people find my books. The best advertising is word-of-mouth but nowdays so many people only read things on their phone. And with all the information coming at all of use all the time when we go online, who has time to think, “Yeah, I’ll give that author a try.” We’d rather spend $5 – $7 on a new drink at Starbucks than spend the money on an ebook, or perhaps a paperback – which might equal the cost two or three drinks but will take much longer for you to enjoy and can be read over and over or shared. And it’s calorie free. Much like caffiene, a good book can keep you up at night as well.

As I sit at my cluttered desk trying to get marketing stuff organized to feel like I’m on top of it all, I was going over some reviews for some of my first few books. I’ve not looked at reviews much in the past few years because I don’t want to think “I’m all that and a bag of chips,” or to be hurt or disappointed that a reader didn’t perhaps “get” the book or appreciate the effort that was put into it. It takes a lot of effort by many people including me, to publish a book.

I found myself working on sorting through this information and weeping. I did this very task last week with some other books, but for some reason, today, tears started to fall.

I don’t believe that Susan M. Baganz is the greatest author ever. Shocker, right? There are so many other better authors out there and I’m still learning with every book I write.

Early on in my writing I had someone criticize me for promoting my writing on Facebook. However, it’s what I am required to do by my publisher. That individual said I was being prideful. Ouch. There was a lot of other painful words in that verbally abusive conversation that I can shove aside, but that one criticism haunts me.

Sure, I love the stories I write. But here’s the weird thing, at least for me. If there is anything good that shows up on the page that impacts someone, that’s all God. I’m a fallible vessel. If there is any failure, that’s all on me.  I write and pray and it is an act  of worship but I’m not perfect by any means. So when I read reviews and a reader tells me how much they loved the story or how it ministered to them in a particular way, I’m humbled that God allowed me to write those words. What an honor to be used by Him doing something that is hard work with little reward–but hopefully has an eternal impact.

Yes, I write fiction, but even Jesus told stories to get a point a cross. There’s a field of psychology that uses metaphor to help get beneath the defenses of people. That’s the power of story. If God wills it, the words that I labored over will reach someone where they need it most and for every reader it might be a completely different reaction.

So today, I’m humbled and honored. To those of you who read my books and write reviews, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to share your thoughts with me and the world. I hope and pray God will use all my efforts–at writing, editing, and marketing–to expand the reach of those words He so graciously gave.

If per chance you have read and enjoyed one of my novels or novellas, and haven’t written a review, would you please do so? It really helps readers to find the books. And tell someone about a book you enjoyed. Mine or someone else’s. Writer’s rarely make much money, but knowing our work is appreciated and shared goes a long way, maybe not to paying the bills, but at least in letting us know the work we do matters.