Dogs are man’s—and woman’s—best friends. I have a dog. I have always had a dog in my life, one way or another. Can’t really much remember life without a dog, except that it was miserable, those few years when a canine buddy didn’t keep me company. But who, more than a dog, especially a foundling or "rescued" canine has a major marketing job to do? Their lives depend on pleasing the "boss" and fitting in with the "pack." So, as I thought about all the dogs I have had over the years, I began to see the marketing lessons they have taught me --- Yes, I said marketing lessons --- from the time I was a small child.
Midnight and Whitewash were both in our family for a very short timeMidnight, a black lab mix, puppy, as I recall, was the first dog I ever knew. I was under five years old but I knew he was in trouble as he chewed holes into the living room carpet. Sure enough, he was banished for his crime and I never knew what happened to him.Whitewash, a white Samoyeed, small and very furry with a long curly tail that looked like a feather, was the next dog in the family. I was six or seven when Whitewash arrived. She was found by a neighbor at the side of the road, and my Mother agreed to take her into our family. However, my brother and sister both had asthma and couldn’t be around dogs. So, we gave her to the Orphans of the Storm, and the last we knew she had been adopted by a family with a farm.
MARKETING LESSON #1: As an author, know your market and target it, even before you finish your book. If your book is going to be the literary equivalent to chewing the carpet or the non-fiction version of causing allergic reactions, you will be sent away. You can be unique, an individual, but you need to know the rules of your "pack" to make your book appeal. Break those rules, and your book will languish. (See the rest at www.valerieconnelly.com )
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