Find spaces to talk about your ideas

Promoting your work actually makes an impact. Anne Trubek notes, after publishing 90 books, “I can trace a pretty, if not completely, clear line between an author’s marketing prowess and effort and sales.” There are a lot of people who would probably want to learn more—as soon as they are aware of it and can understand your enthusiasm for it. (They may also need to hear about it more than once!)

There is an idea that authors dislike book promotion; they’d prefer to write. While that stance feels authentic, that doesn’t mean it is effective. Writing is like any other profession; there will be parts that energize you (e.g., writing) and parts that do not (e.g., promotion).

One of the best ways to get through the drudgery of promotion is to make it fun. For me, I don’t mind speaking, and I get energy from talking to people about their creative interests—so finding those events or groups, and discussing my work with them, is a good place to start. 

I’ll also bring along a few copies of my book, and ask the organizer if I can set them up somewhere for attendees to browse. If I don’t get a chance to speak, at least people can learn more when they sign in or look for refreshments.

This was me talking to Ness Labs about my book Creative Doing. I also did a remote workshop for the community a couple of years ago

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