Marketing: EEK!

As you know, my book and I have made it this far: from a concept in my head to a hard-cover,

actual book with beautiful illustrations—an impressive feat, if you ask me. Now I am facing the most difficult part of this process: marketing!

Anyone can go on BarnesandNoble.com and buy my book, but how are people going to know to look for it? Sure, they can Google some of the search terms that I entered, like “books about grief for kids,” but hoping that a lot of people will find my book that way is not too productive. A company affiliated with Barnes and Noble Press, Book Trib, offers a variety of marketing packages. I would like to purchase the package that would feature a press release to 8,000 media contacts and readers. That sounds great. Except for the price: $690. Unfortunately, that price tag is too high for me to grab right now...

Barnes and Noble is not a retail book distributor. That means that for my book to be offered for sale in bookstores, I have to find a company that will distribute my book to book buyers. The manager of a bookstore in Washington, DC, wants to offer my book for sale, but so far there is no way for her to buy copies from a retail distributor. She recommended one to me, Spark. When I tried to upload the book file, Spark said that the file didn’t meet their technical specifications. EEEK! I am clearly in way over my head...