Novel marketing should come with a warning label

We learn how to market books. Great! Awesome! Amazing!

Part of that is the encouragement toward excellence, finding Timothy, and conducting market research. Great things to know.

But then Thomas drops things like, “Indie bookstores are making a comeback,” and “Serve your Timothy.” And his friend who is starting a private library.

And I’m sitting here in a job that requires running (valet) and at 54 years old I have shredded my ankle. I’ll recover, but I’m not running for a long time. My boss has been great about it, helping me find more desk work (yay). But if I’m doing this job, I have to be out with my guys. And I have to help cover shifts. I have to meet with customers. I can’t sit at a desk.

So, with my leg propped up, I asked myself, what about that bookstore? How can I serve my Timothy?

Now I’m taking homeschool moms to tea, catching up with people I haven’t seen since my youngest daughter graduated a year ago, to find out what they would want in a homeschool library/community center/curated bookstore.

And I sat with my boss at the beginning of the week and gave him my one-year notice.

So — be careful listening to Thomas. You might end up on a different path than you ever thought.