As an author, one of the hardest things (after actually writing a book) is marketing it. I shudder even uttering the word because as any new author would know, it is a hard slog and at times, it can feel like a ball and chain around your ankle that you just can’t ignore.

We’re authors, what on earth do we know about marketing? Yet, we are expected – whether we are traditionally or self-published, to get right on that hamster wheel and get our work out there. I was published by one of the big guys, Harper Collins Australia, but that certainly didn’t mean that I could sit back and wait for the dollars to roll in. (Trust me, I’m still waiting!) I had to do the work, and it was much more than I ever imagined.

I've been very lucky, in that I have worked in this area for a long time,...