(Me, reading at a bookstore in San Diego. Doing public events used to be a real problem for me because I’m a natural introvert. Photo by Keyan Bowes.)
This week, we’ll focus on self-discovery as a vital component of a writer’s career and your Public Booklife. Wednesday, I’ll discuss strategies for improvement as a way to minimize the kinds of stress that actually take away from creativity in your Private Booklife.
It’s certainly possible that in the distant past you did not need to promote your work. It’s possible that in the past all writers needed to do is turn in the manuscript and let the reviews, the interviews, and the incoming royalty checks wash over them. But today, unless you’re Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, or Margaret Atwood, you do need to be able to promote your work. Even if you have a contract with a major publishing house, you will need to coordinate some efforts with that publisher’s publicity department. You will need to become accustomed to the uncomfortable feeling that you are somehow being less than true to your core creativity while out hawking your wares.
For this reason, you need to find the level and the type of engagement that makes sense for you and your life. You need to be able to reflect your true personality, you need to find strategies that suit what you’re “selling,” and you need to find ways to separate your writing from your promotional efforts.
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