Self-Promotion For Writers – Can You Promote Yourselves Too Much?

When it comes to self-promotion for writers, many authors groan. It's hard enough even to entertain the thought that we might be good enough writers to have our work published! The idea of having to actually go out there and explain to other, professional people that we think our writing is something they should sit up and pay attention to, well, that can be too much to bear.

Self-Promotion for writers - it pays to give it your all

However, when it comes to marketing and promotion of your writing, you have to give it your all and be quietly confident in the way you present yourself and your work to the world. If you are a self-published author, this requires even more dedication and having a strategic marketing plan to promote your work and yourself is imperative.

Saying that, is it possible that there could be instances where you go overboard on self-promotion as a writer? Where you actually do yourself more harm than good? Well, yes, of course. As with all marketing, there are good, beneficial ways of doing it, and there are bad, catastrophic ways.

So how do you know how to strike the right balance?

Here are some of the most common worries that authors face when it comes to promoting their work:

"I can't promote myself because my work is not good enough."

Writers need to be confident in what they do. If you have gone through the writing and editing process correctly, you need to be prepared to put yourself out there if you want to move on. If you truly believe your work isn't good enough then the answer is right there in front of you - do some more work on it and then when you know that you've done all you can, be confident and present it in the best possible way.

"I can't promote myself as people will think I am arrogant."

There is a good way and a bad way to market yourself, and if all you do is shout about how you are the best writer in the world and that no other writer compares to you, and if people don't buy your book, they are idiots, then, well, yes, you are going to come across as pretty arrogant. If, however, you present the reasons why people should read your book, do your research into who would enjoy it, and can intelligently and succinctly explain why it is a unique and compelling piece of writing, no one will. To promote yourself well, simply provide value to relevant people - you might not have a 100% success rate, but no one will think you are arrogant for trying.

"I shouldn't have to promote myself because that's a publisher's role."

If you get a publisher or an agent, that's great. But most of us don't, and so it's a good idea to prepare yourself for that by learning how to promote your writing and yourself as an author. Even if you do get a traditional publishing contract, the more you can do to support your work, the better. So don't rest on your laurels, do everything you can possibly do to make your book a success.

"I shouldn't have to promote myself because I'm a writer, not a marketer."

If you want to enjoy success nowadays, it's just a simple and unavoidable fact that the two go hand in hand. If you aren't willing to accept this or put any time or effort into the marketing side of things, that's fine. But you will also have to dramatically lower your expectations in terms of what you can hope to achieve. 

At the end of the day, without excellent marketing and self-promotion, authors can't hope to get very far with their writing. However, it is by understanding the skills it requires to market effectively and dedicating oneself to mastering that craft that writers can hope to put into practice the art of self-promotion without going overboard!

How do you promote yourself as a writer? Share your thoughts with us here!

So now you know all about self-promotion for writers why not learn some digital marketing tips for authors?

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