Why do we think Jesus will do our marketing? Guest post by Randy Ingermanson

14 Comments 05 January 2011

I’m so thankful for my friend Randy Ingermanson. He’s a dear man, brilliant, and extremely giving. He helps novelists over at Advanced Fiction Writing. He’s the Snowflake Guy (a genius method to getting your novel started & finished). And his monthly advanced fiction ezine is a must have if you are serious about your novelist dreams.

He wrote a recent post on a writers loop I belong to that made me laugh out loud, then thank him later for the truth of the post. As a book mentor myself, I run into this attitude quite a bit, where folks assume Jesus bears all the responsibility for marketing. So, enjoy my friend Randy and heed what he says. He’s responding to the question, what is the worst piece of writer advice you’ve heard?

Randy writes:

I’m hesitant to say this because I know I’ll immediately hear from people who say that I have no faith, that I am sacrilegious, or that
I am Not A Real Christian. But somebody needs to say this. So here goes:

The worst advice I have heard is “Jesus will do all your marketing for you.”

Let’s be clear that Jesus is on my management team and I consult him often when making big decisions. But in my experience, Jesus has never typed a press release, called a radio station to set up an interview, posted a blog entry, fixed the CSS on a web site, or written copy for a sales page.

I have frequently heard well-meaning people say that no marketing is necessary for my book because Jesus would, quite literally, run my marketing campaign. I have never heard any of these people say that Jesus would fix my flat tire, feed my cat, or change my kid’s diaper.

Sometimes I want to scream, “Why do you believe that the only thing Jesus is good at is marketing? Isn’t that . . . sacrilegious?”

I am also Xtremely curious why Jesus did such an effective job marketing THE DA VINCI CODE.

In my view, Jesus should be on any Christian writer’s management team. He’s a source of good counsel. But he won’t type your book, send out proposals, or do your marketing.

You will.

That’s why he put you on the planet. Go to it.

–
Randy Ingermanson
Publisher, Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com/blog

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http://twitter.com/tentblogger John Saddington

ouch. that’s painfully true. last time jesus wrote some code for me was… never.

Anonymous

As a book mentor, I see people who say, “God wrote this book.” Although He inspires my words, He hasn’t yet written a book for me. And often, those who say God wrote their book aren’t open to editorial direction because, well, God wrote it. Problem is, God, in these cases, often has terrible grammar!

http://twitter.com/ginadalfonzo Gina Dalfonzo

Hee! Reminds me of the old joke about the songwriter who said, “God sent me this song,” and the other guy who said, “That’s because He didn’t want it around any more.”

Love the post!

http://www.flurrycreations.com/theblog John Bergquist

If he ever does write some code for you John, it will be some madly cool code .

Anonymous

It’ll be supernatural.

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http://www.flurrycreations.com/theblog John Bergquist

Wow. So true. We had this exact conversation a week or so ago didn’t we? It reminds me of something John Eldredge mentioned once in his Fathered by God material. He talks about how we need to learn how things work. If you run your hand on a 2×4 against the grain you will get slivers. If we build a tribe that enjoys our work, they will spread the word. In writing, I believe, God asks us to be diligent and resourceful with what he has given us. If we do that I think he meets us with much more.

Anonymous

We did, via Skype!

I don’t like slivers…

Yes, and he/she who is faithful in little will be entrusted with much.

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Gail P Smith

Made me LOL, too! It’s great, I’m going to bookmark it for future reference.
Go Snowflake Guy!
Gail P Smith
Trudy

Love this post. So true. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
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http://www.ocularconcepts.us Ashish

Lovely words Randy. Effort is all what is required to make this new year rocking. This post in the early days of a new year provoked me to take some real action and I am sure Jesus eventually would help me.
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