"I think that we're all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better - and maybe not all that much better after all." -- Stephen King
Building a Brand?
05/01/2011 20:33 Filed in: Writing
What? Brand? Something I might have to do? I used to think that writing a book was akin to climbing Mt. Everest - something that only those strong in body and mind could accomplish. To dredge up and pour out tens of thousands of words that formed a cohesive story that might entertain others – beyond my capabilities. I feared those words. How could I even think about attempting such a feat?
I’ve overcome that obstacle insofar as I actually wrote a novel, which I’m now revising before I ask a couple of folks in my writing group to read it, again. The writing is fun – hard work, but fun. So, I made it over that hurdle – only to encounter another. Fear over what needs to be done if the book is published! This whole world of self-promoting – creating a brand – me? No way.
Currently, a friend is immersed in nonstop promoting of her first book. Book store events. Library events. Conferences. Mailing out postcards. Writing articles and blogs. Photo ops. Social media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – oh, my. And god knows what else! Does everyone have to do that when his or her book is published? I guess it makes sense, if one wants to sell books, but I’m an introvert! How can I do all the shameless self-promoting that would be required of me if my book is published? Can’t someone else handle that for me?
The short answer is, no.
I’ve attended workshops in which presenters speak of self-promoting. In today’s world of publishing, the author is responsible for more and more. I’ll have to put myself out there. Hawking my wares. Authors have been doing this for centuries, but that doesn’t make me feel any less intimidated by the process. I get a queasy stomach just thinking about it. Do I really have to put myself through such torture?
Today I read the Essay in the New York Times, Sunday Book Review, “Building the Brand,” and the piece reiterated for me that I will have to endure the unthinkable. I will have to create a brand. Me. The introvert.
I’m down with using Facebook, maintaining a Web site and writing a blog. I can handle those behind the scenes. No one sees me, but me. Add in face time and I freak out. I’m not at all confident that I can handle the self-promoting piece.
Though, compared to what authors of centuries past used - hot-air balloons, sandwich boards and beer ads – we have it easier today with the internet and all the various media at our fingertips. I’d much rather create a blog than wear a sandwich board and walk up and down the streets of the city. Or start a Twitter account and “tweet” my every waking moment than be suspended in a glass cage outside a nightclub for 72 hours pounding out a novel on an old typewriter. I’m amazed at what some authors did to promote themselves and their writing.
In the end, introvert or not, I’m glad I’m writing now and not a century or two in the past.
Write on!
I’ve overcome that obstacle insofar as I actually wrote a novel, which I’m now revising before I ask a couple of folks in my writing group to read it, again. The writing is fun – hard work, but fun. So, I made it over that hurdle – only to encounter another. Fear over what needs to be done if the book is published! This whole world of self-promoting – creating a brand – me? No way.
Currently, a friend is immersed in nonstop promoting of her first book. Book store events. Library events. Conferences. Mailing out postcards. Writing articles and blogs. Photo ops. Social media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – oh, my. And god knows what else! Does everyone have to do that when his or her book is published? I guess it makes sense, if one wants to sell books, but I’m an introvert! How can I do all the shameless self-promoting that would be required of me if my book is published? Can’t someone else handle that for me?
The short answer is, no.
I’ve attended workshops in which presenters speak of self-promoting. In today’s world of publishing, the author is responsible for more and more. I’ll have to put myself out there. Hawking my wares. Authors have been doing this for centuries, but that doesn’t make me feel any less intimidated by the process. I get a queasy stomach just thinking about it. Do I really have to put myself through such torture?
Today I read the Essay in the New York Times, Sunday Book Review, “Building the Brand,” and the piece reiterated for me that I will have to endure the unthinkable. I will have to create a brand. Me. The introvert.
I’m down with using Facebook, maintaining a Web site and writing a blog. I can handle those behind the scenes. No one sees me, but me. Add in face time and I freak out. I’m not at all confident that I can handle the self-promoting piece.
Though, compared to what authors of centuries past used - hot-air balloons, sandwich boards and beer ads – we have it easier today with the internet and all the various media at our fingertips. I’d much rather create a blog than wear a sandwich board and walk up and down the streets of the city. Or start a Twitter account and “tweet” my every waking moment than be suspended in a glass cage outside a nightclub for 72 hours pounding out a novel on an old typewriter. I’m amazed at what some authors did to promote themselves and their writing.
In the end, introvert or not, I’m glad I’m writing now and not a century or two in the past.
Write on!