Monday, December 10, 2012

Now the really hard work begins!

At times, I thought writing the book was hard.  Mostly, it wrote itself, although there were times I struggled because the matter at hand was uncomfortable and the memories associated with it were unwelcome.  But for the most part, it was a very enjoyable process and one I will likely do again.

But now the really hard work begins.  Marketing!!  Publicity!!  Exposure!!  No, not that kind of exposure, I've got that down.  I don't need help with that sort of exposure.

As a self-published author, I lack the backing of a publishing house.  I need to find creative and free ways to market my book, and that's a real challenge.

I can only pimp Confessions so many times on Facebook and through email before my family and friends decide to boycott me for annoying the shit of them.  I've already reached that point and the book's only been available for purchase for twelve days.  Now what?

I contacted local radio and TV shows, but I have to admit, I lack the pushy and boastful personal attributes necessary for those venues.  Stop laughing.  In spite of what you think, I don't have those skills.  I feel rather embarrassed calling a TV station and telling them they really need to interview me because this book is so freakin' amazing.  It makes me very uncomfortable.  However, by sheer dumb luck, I've managed to land one TV and one radio interview and am scared shitless that I'll forget how to talk or let out an enormous fart as soon as the cameras turn on.

So once those embarrassing events are behind me, then what?

I've contacted all of the libraries from Key Largo to Key West, but have been told they can't promote a particular author's work, especially one that their patrons would have to purchase (rather than check out).  Hello?  I can't afford to print the damn thing and then "donate" them to the library for people to read.  Not to sound like a total jerk, but wouldn't that defeat the purpose?  Who would anyone buy the book if they could check it out for free?  Call me crazy, but I really would like to make a little profit from the hard work I put into this project.

Since Good Morning America and the Today Show aren't beating down my doors for an interview, I'll push on.  Oprah hasn't called either...

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