Being a new writer–I just finished my third book–I’m intrigued by how books are marketed. I believe most big publishers rely on reviews advertising and book placement.How do you get reviews? I don’t know exactly but i think you need a good publicist battling for you. Advertising is the publisher’s call as is book placement. So if you don’t have your own publicist, you are basically relying on your publisher for everything. Not everything==a lot of writers get on the road and sell themselves at book festivals and mystery festivals all across the country. Of course, that cuts into your writing time and your time to do whatever else you do.
Health Care. A buddy of mine called me today and we were talking about health care and he said–”I hear even some democrats are having problems with the health care bill. I told him that it always amazes me how these things work. Its petty clear that the health care system in this country is a mess. That doesn’t mean doctors aren’t good and treatment isn’t good. It means that that where you live and how much you have may determine whether you get proper health care or not. Anfd the biggest concern of course is the cost. Health care costs are rising astronomically and insurance companies are making a fortune. So the question should be should we fix health care but how do we fix it. But of course the fight is really between the reformers and the vested interests so the discussion is never rational. It’s always about playing to people’s fears to make them keep what is familiar. It’s very hard to reform health care when you have a political process that needs to be reformed almost as much.

I finished my third book and I’m waiting for my editors comments. This one has been a little tougher because I was fighting to find the right ending. It was all there but it was tough to flush out. Who knows it may still need some more work. It’s a good book though. I think it’s as good as my first two.