One thing about self promotion: you talk about yourself a
lot. Which sometimes is good, and sometimes, well, it gets uncomfortable. It’s
not that I don’t want people to go out and buy the book. It’s not that I don’t
think the book is worth talking about or not worth getting attention. But if it’s
not the book, then what is it?
Which sort of led me to a startling realization:
It’s me. I’m the one I don’t think is really worthy of being
talked about. The whole insecurity around my self-promotion is that I feel like
I shouldn’t be hogging all that cyber space and that I might really need to
keep my mouth shut and listen to other people. What gives me the right to take
up all that time and space with something “Oh look at me, I wrote a book and
published it! Aren’t I a super special snowflake?”
Of course, it is hard to write. Publishing is a major
milestone in any writer’s life, so why am I sort of hesitant to take up that
lime light and pour it over myself? I’ve never had a hard time taking up all
the space in any room I was in, but I’ve never asked people to pay for
something either. I’ve never really worked retail or marketing. I’ve always
been the person with the zingers or the funny story. I’ve never been the person
who stands up front and says “This is awesome and you should all buy it. I can
tell you that it’s awesome because I wrote, so I am completely unbiased.” Despite
living my whole social media career as a wallflower I’ve been tweeting,
facebooking, and generally sending spam into the world in the hopes that
someone will see it and connect with my book.
This makes my tummy turn, this marketing, and it
makes me doubt myself and my ability. So yup, that’s what I’m insecure about. How
do you handle the unhappy feels that come with not just being in the spot light
but gobbling up all of it (and hoping people buy your book)?
It must be tricky to promote yourself and your book if it isn't something that you've have had much experience with. What other things have you accomplished that you were initially insecure about? Were there any lessons learned from that which you can apply to this situation? Personally, I think writing a book is a huge accomplishment and you should blow your own trumpet proudly and loudly :-)
ReplyDeleteYes. All this. Nailed it.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us feel that way (and it's kind of what my own IWSG post is about this month, as well!). I've met authors who like to talk about their books and the writing process more than they like to write, but they aren't very prolific...it always makes me wonder if they really enjoy writing or they just want the world to see them as a writer.
ReplyDeleteSince I haven't finished my book yet, I haven't had to face this problem....yet. Maybe that's why my book is taking so long. I know what will happen when I finish.
ReplyDeletePromoting our own book is so much harder than promoting someone else's. I remember being told that ultimately, we're not selling our books as much as we're selling ourselves. That's a scary thought, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI actually make a living off marketing, and STILL I don't like pushing my book on people. Mainly, I see people doing way too much hard selling, and it just made me really negative about doing so myself.
ReplyDeleteSomeone has to start the ripple - who better than you? You tell us how great it is, we read it, then we take up the mantle and tell everyone we know how great it is. All of a sudden you have a legion of loyal and loving fans chafing at the bit for the next book.
ReplyDeleteHint, hint, I'm waiting for your next book ... and how will I know it's out there if you don't tell me :)
I would have been a lot happier being published 100 years ago, when the author could hide in the background. But, that's not the world we live in anymore. The advice 'fake it until you make it' might work here - fake enjoying talking about yourself until it becomes second nature.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you, in a way - the idea of promoting makes me cringe because I'm not usually one to try to draw attention to myself. Speaking up about something is fine, but trying to get people to pay attention to what I've done and buy it? Kind of freaks me out. O_o I'm sitting here hoping that, if/when the time comes, I can find ways to advertise that don't involve me too much. Not going to happen, is it...
ReplyDelete