In the brave new world of publishing where authors are encouraged to do all they can to help promote and publicize their books via Facebook, Twitter, blogs, guest blogs, Goodreads, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc, it can all feel a bit overwhelming.
Given that one could spend all day every day posting, tweeting, blogging, what’s enough? And how do you prioritize?
I’ve had a chance to think about this quite a lot lately because I’ve spent the better part of a year helping my book get out into the world, and a good friend, who has a new book coming out in August, has been asking for my advice.
Here are a few of the things I wish someone had told me a year ago:
One of the hardest things to deal with is letting your book go and letting it find its own way into the world.
Working exclusively on promotion may be exactly what you want to do in the months immediately before and after your book launch. But keep this question firmly in mind: How long do you want to stay away from your writing?
Don’t get lost in the details. From day one, start to think long term and ask some long term/ big picture questions. Do you want to spend your writing time responding to every single thing that crosses your desk? And if you do, for how long will you make this your priority? Three months? Six months? A year?
What is the best use of your time? And, just as important, what do you enjoy? Maybe interviewing another author would be fun and interesting or inspiring; or writing an essay, or writing a review of another book that’s coming out soon.
There are so many possibilities, social media wise, that it can consume all of your energy and vitality. Not to mention your writing time.
So ask yourself:
What do you really enjoy?
What feels like it’s the job of the writer? (as opposed to the publicist)
What are you drawn to?
What makes you feel great at the end of the day?
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