A couple of weeks ago, a European blogger asked if she could reblog a post I wrote 10 years ago. She said it was the best piece on marketing she’d ever read. (Aw shucks. Here’s me blushing.)

The truth is I’d forgotten all about the post, and I pointed out a lot of the info was out of date, but she wanted to post it anyway.

So I thought I’d re-post it here, deleting some of the most dated stuff.

Guaranteed Marketing Success is a Myth

Ruth and I hear this kind of stuff a lot: “I’ve got great reviews, I’m on social media, and I send out a newsletter — just like [my publisher/agent/a blog guru/this book I read] told me to: why isn’t my book selling? It’s been out for six months!!!”

In other words, everybody wants us to tell them how to achieve sure-fire publishing success.

But we won’t.

That’s not because we’re meanies. It’s because we are fresh out of magic spells. And our wands have been recalled to Hogwarts.