I was up at the crack of dawn* today for a photo shoot with the number one newspaper in the state**. Such is a the life of an Amazon Best Selling Author***.
The funny thing about aspiring to be a writer is you can’t possibly just write. You have to be your own researcher, editor, agent, marketer and PR person. Even, or so I’m told, if you get an agent, and a contract with a big publisher, the success of your book relies in large part on your willingness and ability to pimp yourself like a shameless fame whore.
In RealLifeTM I work in marketing so I have some skills and knowledge that are useful, but it’s one thing selling products and services for a business and an entirely other thing to sell your own creations. That inner critic that looks over your shoulder while you’re writing telling you it’s rubbish gets really bloody loud when you have to start telling other people to invest their time and money in it.
Having a pen name complicates things. It’s one thing to hide behind an avatar online but a body has to turn up at photo shoots and book launches. Talk about an identity crisis!
I’m so glad to be part of a group for this first publication experience. There are plenty of hands to make every step light work, and we all cheer each other on through the nerves and the self-doubt. I’m learning from the other members of my group and collectively we are making a much bigger noise about the book than any of us could have done on our own.
Anyhow, Sweetie, must fly, I have a launch party mere days away and I haven’t got a thing to wear.
* OK it was 8.30 for 9.15 am
** The ONLY paper, a Murdoch rag, but beggars can’t be choosers
*** How I became an Amazon Bestseller
