The Troubles of Self-promotion

[alanajoli]

Here is something I've learned about myself. When I am doing marketing (viral or otherwise) for someone other than myself, I have no problem bringing the topic into conversation and gushing about it. The example of the day: I am less comfortable promoting a class that I teach than a class I enjoyed taking. In the latter case, I'm recommending something to people because I think it will enhance their life experience. In the former case, I'm promoting myself, even if I am teaching the same class I'd recommend when taught by another teacher. I do the same thing with books: I, of course, love it when people read my stuff. I'm happy to tell people about what I write and what my books (now hard to find) are about. Other writers, especially folks that I know (like a certain friend whose debut novel is coming out from Tor this fall), I will plug rampantly with no shame.

Given how much my professions (teaching and writing) require me bringing the audience to my work, this realization is somewhat troubling. It is probably a good thing that I didn't go into sales.

Comments

[jeff-duntemann.livejournal.com]

Alas, there's a pretty thin line between being a tireless self-promoter and a tiresome self-promoter. What makes it worse is that self-promotion will be the key to having any success at all as a writer in the relatively near future, if not already. The fact that we're uncomfortable with it won't make it unnecessary.

[shanna-s.livejournal.com]

That's not at all uncommon. I've jokingly suggested the idea that authors band together in a co-op so we can all promote each others' books without having to hawk our own. The trick is that everyone in the group has to feel the same way because it won't work if everyone agrees to that, and then there are one or two people who let everyone else promote their books, and then they don't promote the others (which has happened when I've been in groups that tried this). And you have to genuinely like the other people's work. It's awkward when you're obligated to push someone else because of an agreement where you promote each other, but then you're not so crazy about that one book.

I used to work in PR. I can do great PR for other things I believe in. Me, not so much. I feel icky.