I don’t know any writer, anywhere, who wakes up in the morning thrilled with the prospect of a day filled with self-promotion. As a group, we tend to prefer dark rooms, pajamas, and oversized coffee mugs filled with wine. And yet, part of our job is to put on a happy face (and pants) and promote our books. Publishers expect it. Editors and agents demand it. And yet…so…
Imagine an author. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably getting a vision of a scholarly genius, possibly in an elbow-patched smoking jacket, pounding in a fit of literary fervor at the clattering black keys of an antique typewriter. Which, of course, is located in an attic apartment with a skylight, the wide windows open to a rolling vista of Parisian rooftops, the air redolent of coffee and perhaps a…
I don’t hate self-promo as much as a lot of authors do. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe it’s because, despite my various insecurities and anxiety issues, I’ve also always had, on the flip side, what a kind person might call self-possession, and what someone else might call a certain sort of deranged confidence. I’ve never had trouble with public speaking, for example. It doesn’t scare me in the…
Way back when I was just a young thing, fresh out of college and braving the wilds of New York, I got a job at a magazine that shall remain nameless here (but if you know me, you know which one — and it’s not hard to figure it out). I worked my ass off at that magazine. I fact-checked, I researched, I interviewed people, I reported, I wrote, and…
I have never been afraid of a little self-promotion. Maybe it started when I was 15 months old and my baby sister was born, and I needed to remind my parents I was here first. Or perhaps it was in high school when I ran for student government and had to outline my plans and strengths on stage, in front of the entire student body. Or maybe it was after…
Self promotion goes against every fiber of my being. From an early age I was taught to not brag, to not raise myself above others. I’ll gladly tell you about how everyone else is great, but if you turn the spotlight on me, I want to hide. But in today’s publishing world, that’s not an option. Writers must talk about themselves, drum up excitement for a release, and ask people…
This is a funny state of affairs. It’s 10:30 p.m., Thursday night. I’m sitting in bed with my laptop not wanting to write this post. Not because I have an issue with the topic, but because I reeeally want to sleep. I was so relaxed, so ready to snuggle in with my cat and my dog and my novel, and then with a jolt, I remembered: Oh my god, I haven’t…
In my other life, my day job, if you will, I work in marketing. In a previous life, I worked at a PR firm and later, as an editor at a magazine. Who knew my previous work experience would be such a huge help as the launch for Chasing the Sun approaches? It’s not that any of this is made any easier, or less overwhelming, as I think of ways…
Today is Martin Luther King Day, Jr. Day, and my office is closed in remembrance. I have done nothing in life to merit getting the day off in honor of all that MLK was and did. I’m grateful for the day away from the office, and I will think fondly of the man at several points today (as I hit the snooze button, for instance)—but there’s something about my getting…
