I’ve had a novel inside me for as long as I remember. I completed my first story when I was 8 years old - it won the first prize at a local children’s literary contest.  However, getting a novel published as an adult was a whole different ball game.  I hired an agent to cart my manuscript along from publisher to publisher, but not too many people were interested in a novel outlining the travails of spinsterhood.  This was of course, before a certain Bridget Jones made chick lit so popular. 

Then one day, I heard of on demand printing.  A local marketing communications company in town offered to print as few copies of my book as I wanted to, even one if that’s what I wanted. Without the budget for intense promotion, I went ahead and ordered a few prints.  I then spent the next couple of months attending book fairs, arranging meet and greets, and signing sessions at local books stores.

Voila!  My efforts paid off. Buzz began to build up around the book, and soon, it was flying off the shelves. I never made the New York Times bestseller list, but for a first time novel, the book was widely appreciated. That was two years ago, and I am now working on my second novel, and have moved to the Big Apple.   I can’t help but think that I would never had had such terrific return on marketing investment if it hadn’t been for that small printing company back home. 

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