Monday, August 27, 2012

Promotion, Spomotion...


 
 
I’ve never been that great at selling myself.  No, not as a prostitute, but I imagine I’d suck at that too.  No, when it comes to telling people I’m an author.  I’m not good at that.

It drives my husband crazy.  He thinks I should tattoo it on my forehead (and I do have a rather large forehead).  He gets upset when someone asks me what I do and I tell them about my part-time day job.

Okay, yes, I’ve had four traditionally pubbed books and since them I’m selling those four and two others as ebooks.  And yes, I’m making a lot more money self-pubbing than I did with a trad publisher in NYC.  I still can’t bring myself to promote that.

Don’t get me wrong – I have a website, facebook page and blog as Leslie Langtry.  I guest blog and other such stuff.  I don’t know what my issue is.  I think I’ve always been this way.

When my first book came out in 2007, and I had great reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Chicago Tribune, I still couldn’t bring myself to tell folks to buy my book.  I should note – my husband has no problem doing this. 

I’m not an introvert.  I’m certainly not shy about…well…anything.  So what’s my problem?  I look at other authors and wish I could be more like them – so confident about their work.

To make this weirder – I work in Public Relations and Marketing for a nonprofit.  And I have no trouble at all promoting the agency and the good work it does.  But ask me to wave a banner for my alter ego?  No chance.

Which leaves me to wonder if there are other authors out there like me.  It certainly doesn’t seem like it.  Maybe I’m just weird.  That’s always a possibility.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

I’m always open to suggestions.  How do you deal with it?

13 comments:

  1. You're not alone, Leslie! I don't jump in and tell people I'm a writer or about my books, either. I'm the stealth author!

    I hate to toot my own horn. Thank goodness for friends and family who help me out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sara - I LOVE that phrase - 'stealth author!' Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone!

      Delete
  2. I'm awful at self-promo. I'll post when I have special news, but I rarely talk about my books. and out in "real life" I don't mention I'm an author unless someone asks me what I do or says, "hey, aren't you that author on the mountain?" then I feel all shy about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm totally with you there, Kathryn. Do you think it's because we were taught 'not to brag' when we were kids? I don't know.

      Delete
  3. Love your post, Leslie (and your humility). I just sold my first book and I'm finding the self-promotion piece excruciating! I agree that it stems from our upbringing, being taught not to brag. But I wonder, if we were astronauts, or neurosurgeons, would we shrink from those titles? Funny how the title "author" makes us feel as if we're bragging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lori - you are so right! If I was an Olympic gold medalist, I'd wear those medals every day! But my books? Not a chance.

      Delete
  4. I'm sure you're not the only one, Leslie. Think of the reverse. I've got several friends who WON'T SHUT UP about their books. I've gotta say, it can be more than a little annoying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's true, Janene. I have author friends I barely know who post their promo to my fb site without asking. I have no problem tooting another author's horn, but ask me and I'll post it myself!

      Delete
  5. It's really hard to talk about yourself, but just remember how annoying it can be to listen to other people talk incessantly about themselves and that should put it into perspective. Making connections with people and letting them (hopefully) gush about your book-- that's much more up my alley!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura - I do love it when someone gushes about my book! Especially if they weren't put up to it by my mom ;)

      Delete
  6. I want to be a stealth author, too! My pub date is tomorrow, and I'm sick of talking about myself already. I think the trick to surviving launch week will be to focus on my hero and heroine. I still love those guys, and I want to give them a last hurrah before waving them off into the world. Sniff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats Barbara! I totally get that!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love this! I work in PROMOTION too and I hate self-promoting. My husband is always forcing me to do stuff.

    ReplyDelete