A self-published author wears two hats. The first and most enjoyable hat is producing the written word that hopefully will be enjoyed by many readers. The second hat doesn’t always feel real comfortable perched on my head because that is the hat referred to as ‘marketing the book’.

Last week I and my support staff (my wife Kathie) climbed into our Chevy Cruze and headed to St. Cloud to do a little book marketing.

As we were cruising down Interstate 94 weaving in and out of the paths of seemingly hundreds of semi trucks I had some time to ponder the inspiration for my new book “The First Advent, Stories and Activities”.

I know in an earlier blog I gave credit to Priudence Ramos because she had clued me into the fact that there were very few good Advent books for children. In fact I was so thankful for that information that I dedicated the book to her.

But the more I think about the creation of the Advent book I have to confess I might have drawn a little inspiration from my subconscious. Let me explain.

Many years ago when our three children were middle school aged and younger Kathie and I got the idea to celebrate the season of Advent with them on the four Sundays of Advent.

We made a circle of evergreen boughs and added three violet candles and one rose candle to produce what we thought was a beautiful Advent wreath. To this day I think it was a beautiful sight and it would have become even more beautiful each week of Advent as another candle was lit.

But I made a regretful mistake that first Sunday. As the family was gathered around the dining room table the two middle school children were grumbling because they were missing their favorite Sunday night television show.  Our youngest was tuned in because she wanted to strike the match and help light the first candle.

I glanced over at our two middle school children as the match was being struck and they gave me one of those early teenage eye rolls. My self confidence was shattered. The candle was successfully lit but things went down hill from there.

I gave a short, half-hearted talk about the importance of Advent and that ended the disastrous first Sunday of Advent. We never lit the second, third or forth candle during that Advent. I had failed my responsibility as a father to teach my children the importance of preparing for the arrival of Baby Jesus on Christmas morning. 🙁

I never forgot that failure and I think subconsciously I drew on that disappointment  when I created “The First Advent”. If I had had that book back in those early child rearing years I would have pulled it out and the four weeks of Advent would have been filled with excitement!:)

I was aroused from my reminiscing when I saw the green and white interstate sign announcing that we were approaching the town of Sauk Centre. I put on my turn signal light and pulled onto the offramp because the little town of Sauk Centre had the Hidden Treasure Christian Books and Gifts.

Small town Christian book stores are dwindling in numbers. Amazon, eBooks and large book store chains provide too much competition.

I walked into the unique, little store and asked the clerk if the manager was available. Of course it was the manager’s day off so I was forced to practice my marketing presentation on the assistant.

I thought it went very well and when she announced she had nine grandchildren dollar signs began flashing in my eyes. 🙂

I left a copy of the book for the manager to examine. Now I await her decision on its worthiness. If the assistant buys a book for each of her nine grandchildren and the manager makes a book order it will have been a successful venture. If there is no sale I’ll get over it and move on. Isn’t book marketing fun?

The Barnes and Noble Bookstore in St. Cloud was our next stop. I was carrying a copy of “The First Advent, Stories and Activities” as I entered the store and even though I was proud of that little book filled with talking animals all excited to use their talents to ready the stable for the arrival of Baby Jesus I was humbled as I viewed the thousands of books lining the shelves of that store. My book suddenly felt inadequate. It would be made invisible if it were to sit on a shelf surrounded by the great varieties of books.

Then the marketing part of my brain kicked in and reminded me that my book was ever as good as any of the other books lining those shelves. With that renewed confidence I stepped up to the information desk and asked to speak to the purchasing person for the store.

A young lady approached and I was able to show her the book and explain its contents to her. I was not able to read what her thoughts were concerning the book and I left the store not sure whether I or the book had made a positive impression.

The next day to my surprise I received an email from her in which she invited me to come to the store and conduct a book signing in December. A book signing at Barnes and Noble! That certainly was a confidence builder and reminded me to always forge ahead even if I feared a negative outcome.

Our next stop was the Catholic Book Store. I did not bring my GPS and our phone lacked it too. We were in downtown St. Cloud and suddenly I had no idea where the bookstore was located. Being a man the thought of asking someone for directions never even entered my mind so we drove aimlessly around the downtown area.

After several minutes of searching I think divine intervention kicked in. My guardian angel was feeling sorry for me so as I made a left turn at a stop light the bookstore appeared.

An elderly woman was running the store on that particular day and so I gave her my best marketing spiel. She explained her children actually ran the store and she was filling in for the day. And then the shock came! She asked me the price of the book and after I had quoted the price she said she would buy it to show her family.

My marketing skills received another self esteem boost. I might have to go on the road indefinitely.:)

Our final stop was our church diocese newspaper, The Sunday Visitor. Again good things happened as we were ushered into the head reporter’s private office and had an interview with a very friendly, positive young lady. Hopefully that will lead to a book review in next months paper just in time for Christians to order the book online and insure that the celebration of Jesus’s birth will actually begin on the first day of Advent. 🙂

So far it had been a wonderfully successful marketing day but as they say ” all good things must come to an end” and they did! 🙁 As we returned home on the interstate I saw a sign indicating a turnoff for the town of Willmar.

I remembered Willmar had a wonderful Christian book store so we decided to explore some new country, visit Willmar and continue book marketing for a couple more hours.

The trip to Willmar over two-lane highways was enjoyable. The roads were newly paved and the countryside was beautiful. But that’s where the enjoyment ended.

As we entered the town of Willmar I headed straight for the bookstore and as I walked into the building preparing to give my marketing talk for the fourth time that day I stopped dead in my tracks. The building no longer contained a Christian book store. Instead it had evolved into a thrift store specializing in Christmas ornaments. At that moment I was not in the mood for Christmas.

The many miles out of our way had been for naught. But that was just the beginning of the ‘many miles’. As we began the trip back to Wheaton I decided to take a different highway, one we hadn’t traveled for years.

The highway was to have led us to Ortonville but somewhere along the way I missed a turn and we ended up in unfamiliar territory and completely lost. We were driving on a beat up paved highway with very few farmsteads and meeting semi after semi filled with soybeans. And of course I wasn’t about to stop at the infrequent farm sites and ask directions because as I’ve said before, I’m a man!

Finally the town of Appleton appeared on the horizon and we could breath easy again. Since Appleton didn’t have a Christian book store we breezed right through the town and headed home.

Our book marketing trip had been ‘long’ but successful. However the next trip I need to remember two things. Bring along my GPS and use it when needed. Also I need to “man up” and ask for directions when necessary! Oh, that’s gonna be painful. 🙁

Until next time.