If At First You Don't Succeed ~ Try, Try Again

This time last year, I had about 7 years of managing diabetes under my belt. I had gotten over the panic of adding insulin to the mix 6 months before. My daughter had come for our annual holiday visit. And I was enjoying myself.

I had no idea that in the year to come, I would write an entire book on managing diabetes (Your Life Isn't Over ~ It May Have Just Begun!), learn a mind-bending number of things related to the process of marketing said book, and generate and spend $2500 to publish and put it out there -- only to discover that's not all it takes to make it a household word. That's a lot to jam into one year on top of a full-time job, a healthy handful of other demanding projects, and the not-so-minor matter of managing my own diabetes on a daily basis. It's not like I can push it to the bottom of the list till I get around to it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy I wrote the book. It's a valuable resource I wish existed back when I was first diagnosed. It has a really fun photo of me on the front. It has discussion group questions in the back. It has larger than usual print and comes at an affordable price in paperback, Kindle, and audio editions. I'm proud of it. But I wrote it to encourage other diabetics (especially with new diagnoses). I hoped they would see the cover and say to themselves, "Well, gee. She doesn't look as if she's suffering. She's having a good time. Maybe my life isn't over after all." Because that's the truth.

But though I've sold a few books, there are 4,500 new people diagnosed with diabetes every day -- besides the twenty to thirty million already diagnosed. So it seems as if I should have sold more than a few.

What's my next move? To talk with an expert on marketing after the holidays. Because one of the things I've learned about life while practicing diabetes management is that if one thing doesn't work, try something else.

After all, my first review on Amazon reads:

"I'll preface this review by saying that I do not have diabetes. However, several members of my family do and the likelihood of me developing it at some point in my life isn't small. I got this book to share with my mother who has had a hard time taking her diabetes seriously. This book reads like hearing good advice from a dear friend who cares about you. It's entertaining, informative, and to the point. Heck, it has great advice for non-diabetics, too. If you or anyone you know could use a little wonderful advice from someone who isn't a cheerful educator with a script and lists of do-not-eat foods that seem overwhelming, start here. Hensley nails it. I devoured this little gem in one afternoon."

So...you see? I can't give up now. I'm just getting started.