“Shameless Self Promotion”

As I’ve mentioned before I have been following some discussions on the Amazon Discussion Boards. One of the liveliest ones is titled “shameless self-promotion for writers” and there have been a number of writers who have been active in the discussion. It is enlightening in that I have discovered it’s not just me. Many of us have written books. We have published in various ways. Now we are just trying to get our books out there and make them available for people to read. It is difficult.

One of the things that I have discovered is that I am far more reluctant to promote myself than I am to promote others. Over the years I have helped a number of people publish in a number of ways — I’ve edited books, designed them, created covers, made web sites and promotional materials. I’ve written press releases and sent them out to literally hundreds of news sources. Yet, now that it is time to do that for my own books, I am dawdling. I don’t know why.

Well, maybe I do. The very fact that someone started a discussion on Amazon with the words “shameless self-promotion” tells you a lot. First of all “self-promotion” in and of itself carries a certain amount a taboo with it. I remember my parents’ admonitions to not “make too much of yourself”. Nice people are modest and self-effacing and don’t brag. Nice people don’t call attention to themselves. Then when you add the word “shameless” it makes it all the more clear — promoting oneself is a thing to be ashamed of.

The thing is there are thousands of people who don’t feel that way at all! They are wonderful at going out in the world and pursuing whatever it is that they want. They are active in pursuit of jobs, clients, business opportunities, awards and recognition. They go after what they want and, when they get it, we admire them. We say, “wow, what a dynamo he/she is!” It’s a peculiar dichotomy when you think about it.

When I was busy writing my books all I thought about was the story. I was so lost in the worlds that I created that it never occurred to me that these wonderful, delicious characters wouldn’t find an appreciative audience. When my friends started to read the books and give me feedback I was so excited. I loved that they loved what I had written and I thought others would enjoy them just as much. Then when I started the dreaded submission process I got a harsh dose of reality. It wasn’t that potential agents and publishers disliked my stories and characters, not at all. It was that they didn’t even have the time or the interest to read them. “Thank you for your recent submission. Unfortunately at the present time our schedule does not permit us to consider new blah-blah-blah.” Sometimes the manuscripts weren’t even unsealed. What a shock.

For awhile I remained optimistic that someone would read it and fall in love. Actually, someone did. An agent was wild about it. He called me and couldn’t say enough nice things. But then he encountered what I encountered — no one had time to look at it.

So, I pressed on and published anyway. Now the books are out in the world and the feedback I get is wonderful but the issue is still how to get attention, how to get people to want to read my books. It is a humbling process. Rejection is constant but even worse is just being ignored. Everyone is busy. Everyone is maxed out. No one returns phone calls and emails. It is a long, lonesome process of slogging through potential opportunities thinking “maybe this time”.

On the sidebar of this blog I keep a quote from Marianne Williamson, another of my goddesses. It says “who are you NOT to be brilliant, who are you not to shine”. I remind myself of that. And I keep pushing - shamelessly, hopefully, expectantly.

Thanks for reading.