OMG exactly! "Build it and they will come" has never really worked, and the people saying that all you have to do is just put your stuff out there is, frankly, either lying or deluded.
I'm very comfortable with self-promotion, to the point where I actually have to rein myself in, but I know lots of writers really don't like it at all. I think the thing to do is come up with ways of not just screaming 'BUY MY BOOK!' on repeat, but making little stories of interest to tickle people's fancies. That way I feel they're getting more than just marketing spam (while still also getting the basic message). Not quite self-promotion, but I make sure that if anybody mentions my books on social media I say thank you, even if their comments are sometimes a bit critical.
Yes, absolutely! There are ways and means to do self-promotion that isn't just screaming into the void. I do see some authors here whose every newsletter is just a list of stuff they've done or books the want people to buy, and I really want to take them aside and point out that you have to give more than you ask, by at least a ratio of 5:1. But yeah, I do feel like those people have to be feeling the pinch, because they wouldn't be doing that screaming if they didn't feel the desperation.
It does suck, but what sucks worse are the people who say 'Well if you just write good stuff' and I'm like..... So why does Nike advertise?
OMG exactly! "Build it and they will come" has never really worked, and the people saying that all you have to do is just put your stuff out there is, frankly, either lying or deluded.
Sooooooo I’m pretty sure I know what triggered this post. And I completely agree. Well played.
Yeah, I had to sit on it for a week and then cut out all the angry bits. 😂
I'm very comfortable with self-promotion, to the point where I actually have to rein myself in, but I know lots of writers really don't like it at all. I think the thing to do is come up with ways of not just screaming 'BUY MY BOOK!' on repeat, but making little stories of interest to tickle people's fancies. That way I feel they're getting more than just marketing spam (while still also getting the basic message). Not quite self-promotion, but I make sure that if anybody mentions my books on social media I say thank you, even if their comments are sometimes a bit critical.
Yes, absolutely! There are ways and means to do self-promotion that isn't just screaming into the void. I do see some authors here whose every newsletter is just a list of stuff they've done or books the want people to buy, and I really want to take them aside and point out that you have to give more than you ask, by at least a ratio of 5:1. But yeah, I do feel like those people have to be feeling the pinch, because they wouldn't be doing that screaming if they didn't feel the desperation.