Grandma Knows Best
Marketing, I think, involves surrounding yourself with people who believe in your message, and who like and enjoy people in general. … It is critical to be passionate about your work and then to convey in a professional yet heart-felt way the message you are trying to get across. …
One can’t be afraid. I remember walking through the mall one day with my manuscript in hand. I would go to different bookstores and ask to see the [person] in charge of the children’s section. I have to admit I was pretty nervous at times, but then I’d get my head in the right frame of mind and ask myself, “What’s the worst thing they can say to me? They can say no, and so what if the do?” Little by little, we gained some momentum and had lined up before our first printing approximately 30 different stores who would carry the book. In order to recoup some of the initial money invested, we had a private sale for close friends and relatives.
Matt Steinmetz is the publisher and brand director of Publishing Executive.