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Self-Promotion: Why Authors Take Pain Meds


Self-Promotion: Why Authors Take Pain Meds

What is Self-Promotion, you ask? In a nutshell: the horrible and humiliating process of sharing your hard work with others, even your friends, only to find out that most of them don’t give a damn.

This is how it starts. Your publisher calls you and suggests you get a website, start blogging, start posting on Facebook and Twitter. “It’s not about you,” they say. “It’s about this amazing project.” Wide eyed and still not over the shock that you actually landed a royalty-advance contract with a major publishing house, you dutifully obey. And then, slowly but surely, your fans and friends start to block you on their Newsfeeds, your family gets annoyed that you’ve turned social media into means of mass communication, people start to think you sound like a goose who likes the sound of his own squawk, and you go to bed feeling less like a writer and more like a self-centered jerk.

How the hell did you end up in this quandary? You were just a simple writer, an introvert, an arty indie dude who loved to mold words the way a potter molds clay. And now you have a Facebook Page and a silly blog, and you are beginning to sound like a burgeoning Narcissus.

These days, most Self-Promotion takes place on the world wide spider web. Too many writers, like dying flies, have been caught in this sticky  turquoise web of silk. And it’s designed to make writers start drinking. Britney Spears posts about how she ate an orange for breakfast, and she’ll get 10,000 “likes,” while some poor but earnest writer posts about how his life’s work is finally published, and one, maybe two, friends will offer so much as a “congratulations.”

Maybe the problem is that there are not enough word nerds and supporters of the robust book culture to devote a ten dollar bill to the cause. Or maybe the truth is that Self-Promotion downright stinks.

And this is why hiring a publicist is the best thing a writer can do. You can toot your own horn all you want on Facebook or Twitter, but it will never compare to a publicist pulling strings and getting you published on popular blogs or landing an article in a niche magazine. And that’s why I’ve loved working with Sherri Rosen. She saved me from having to stand on the roof of my own small apartment and shout to my neighbors. She shielded me from many a rotten tomato that would have been thrown my way. She got me onto CNN.com and ABC News and got the word out—and all I had to do was write. After all, when it comes to books, writing is the only thing writers want to do.

Love your authors. Buy their wares. And if you are an author yourself, maybe it’s time to untangle yourself from the web of Self-Promotion and hire a professional. Your friends will thank you, and your book will actually sell a few copies. You’ll finally be able to go to sleep with a sense of human dignity. Heck, you might even be able to put food on the table.

by Tyler Blanski, Author and Recovering Self-Promoter.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 at 11:48 am and is filed under African American, athlete, Clients, Friends and Colleagues, Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Self-Promotion: Why Authors Take Pain Meds”

  1. Morgan Rose Says:

    What a grand validation for those of us who spend our days and nights trying to come up with the next perfect word / sentence / paragraph, etc., etc. etc. that will stun all those who read our brilliance, and maybe change their lives. You absolutely captured every little nuance that only we authors know so intimately!
    And great shout out for Sherri Rosen……. publicist extraordinaire!
    Thank you……….. absolutely perfect!

    Morgan Rose

  2. ElizOF Says:

    Self-promotion can be awkward, and there are times it has made me cringe. I’m glad I stopped by to read this because it confirmed what I’ve always suspected: Get a publicist to do the promotional heavy lifting. Excellent post Tyler and kudos to our very own Sherri Rosen! 🙂
    Elizabeth

  3. top article Says:

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