Marketing - Who will buy my book?

The time has come to market and I am at a loss.  Where do I turn to find marketing tools that are user friendly for a novice in the field? 

A plathora of advice exists on the web, but how much of it is practical for an author to use.  Finding venues to market my books is a full time job even with the help of a dedicated publisher's marketing department, and what about the niche market.  What niche does the story fall into, historical fiction, romance, adventure?  They all have a place in the story, but which genre should be the target for marketing purposes. 

I found marketing to be a world of mystery since entering the realm of published authors where one follows a maze of intersecting paths that lead to several dead ends.  Book stores are a wonderful experience and being a featured author at Barnes & Noble feels like you have arrived.  But, the few books sold on that Saturday afternoon are soon forgotten when the book is not on the shelves the following Saturday as another aspiring author is featured. 

The list continues with book fairs, library appearances, speaking events, a web page, and yes, creating a blog.  All of these are areas to advertise and promote the work of the imagination that demanded rewriting, editing, review, professional critique and meeting deadlines. 

I have learned the final product is not the published book; the marketing of that book is the end product.  A story is not complete until another person reads it and finds enjoyment in the tale.  So I say keep searching for markets to sell the tale that emerged from a computer file to a book for the world to enjoy.