Tag Archives: self-promotion

On Shameless Self-Promotion

This may or not not be an artist’s depiction of one of my book signings. šŸ˜›

Iā€™ve made it no secret no secret that Iā€™m a shameless self-promoter. In fact, it could be argued that I sometimes flaunt it. However, this week I had two interesting thoughts related to that this week. Well, more like one thought and one realization.

First, my self-promotion got me in a bit of trouble. I shared my latest blog in a Facebook group Iā€™m in, and not one but two admins messaged me after deleting my post telling me not to do that since the group had a rule against self-promotion posts (because otherwise the members would be bombarding the group with them). It wasnā€™t the first time this had happened. Admittedly, it was kinda my fault since Iā€™d forgotten about that rule.

One admin asked me why I promoted myself. ā€œIā€™m a writer,ā€ I replied. ā€œItā€™s what I do.ā€ She said she wrote haikus but didnā€™t go around saying, ā€œLook at me! Look at me!ā€ I had to fight the urge to start an argument.

ā€œWhy?ā€ you ask. Because the difference between me and this admin isā€”at the risk of sounding rudeā€”Iā€™m a professional and sheā€™s a hobbyist (as far as I know). I donā€™t know if she has a blog where she posts her haikus, but if sheā€™s okay with only a few people reading her stuff, thatā€™s fine. I, on the other hand, want to grow an audience because writing is my trade and vocation. If I am to be (more) successful, I must get people to read my stuff. I figured that since Iā€™d built a community in this Facebook group, thatā€™d be a great place to generate interest. Apparently not. I understand why they have the rule, but I didnā€™t like the attitude I was getting from the admin. However, I can forgive it because she may not understand where Iā€™m coming from. I know promotion can come across as arrogantā€”just look at Donald Trump (yes, I went there)ā€”but itā€™s necessary in my line of work. If you have the right attitude, though, it can work. It may seem paradoxical that self-promotion and humility can go together, but I do believe itā€™s possible.

Ironically, I learned that even I have limits on my self-promotion, which brings me to my second thought. I realized that when Iā€™m trying to get people interested in books (or anything I make/do), Iā€™m filled with passionate adamancy. Iā€™m a one-man hype machine. But when people come back to me and say they loved my stuff, I almost want to refuse their praise. Butā€¦I have friends who are more talented and/or successful than me! I think.

Yeah, Iā€™m weird.

Iā€™m not 100-percent sure why I think like this. It might be because I feel like Iā€™m the lesser of my peers. Iā€™m in awe of their talent and think theyā€™re more deserving of peopleā€™s attention and adoration. Or I think that if I was as talented and/or savvy as my more successful peers, then Iā€™d deserve the praise. In other words, I see a disconnection. Does that make sense?

What do you think, True Believers? Do you have similar struggles? How do you deal with these thoughts?

Juggling Hats

Juggling-HatsMy writing productivity has been hampered lately. The big reasons for that have been that my laptop is getting fixed (again!) and my day job, despite being part-time, has delayed me from reviewing the TV shows, among other things, that I normally review for Examiner.

But there’s another reason why, albeit a good and necessary one:

Promotion.

When a writer is self-published or with a small publishing house like I am, he does most of the promotion for his books on his own (heck, even writers with big publishers have to promote themselves). He has to update his websites and social media with links to new books (like I did yesterday with Destroyer: Deluxe Edition). Then he have to share that everywhere. For me, I barely have time for Facebook, let alone Tumblr or Twitter (I’d hire someone to tweet for me and give him the title, ā€œNate Marchand’s official twitā€). Heck, even keeping up with a weekly blog post is a pain. Sometimes I miss a week or post it later (I try to post every Thursday), and that’s just when I don’t have other announcements to mentionā€”like my book signing this weekend. (See how I keep promoting myself!) šŸ˜›

Also, as a self-published author, I have to do all the cool but mundane things I normally take for granted, like design my book’s exterior and interior. I have to design the cover myself or hire someone to do it. Depending on the website I use, getting artwork to fit may be a chore. For the interior, I can format itā€”often two times if I make a print book and an e-book, the latter of which can be a choreā€”find and download fonts, & convert to different file types. And before I even get to this I have to edit the book myself, which will mean commissioning beta readers to edit it.

Like I said, all the stuff you donā€™t think about you must do. The writer becomes editor, artist, salesman, and graphic designer. Thatā€™s a lot of hats to juggle!

Donā€™t think Iā€™m complaining, because Iā€™m not. I enjoy these things. It expands my skillset. Iā€™m a shameless self-promoter, so that comes naturally. But when Iā€™m doing all those things, Iā€™m not able to write, and that sometimes makes me feel guilty. All these stories bouncing around in my brain like balls on Pongā€”itā€™s nerve-wracking! You know what itā€™s like having fictional characters yell at you for not telling their stories? Itā€™s almost like being schizophrenic! Theyā€™d rather I do that than get people to read their stories. Well, sometimes they do.

So, if you want to be a writer because itā€™s glamorous, go become a doctor. Writing is work. Fun work, yes, but a lot of work. Itā€™s not for the faint of heart.

But, oh man, is it worth it!