I spent my Saturday visiting every comic-book and bookstore in my region. I got my business cards and book fliers ready, got in my car, and went around and accosted people. Here’s my spiel:
Hi, I’m a local author. I have a book coming out in May. (Hand flier to person. Smile). I was wondering if you’d be interested in carrying a few copies or perhaps hosting a book signing. (Smile some more).
Responses varied. Some folks were really interested in what I had to say (yeah!). Others were not (meh). By the end of the day, I was exhausted — physically and mentally.
I love talking to people who read. What they like, what they don’t like. I enjoy talking about writing, creating characters, building worlds, etc. I enjoy debating the merits of various TV shows and movies and music. I don’t like to talk so much about myself, mainly because my day job as a journalist is to listen to other people speak.
But what I really don’t like is cold-calling people, which is essentially what I did Saturday. I always feel like a used car salesman, pushing stuff on people that they don’t really want. But promoting is part of being a writer, so I’ve just got to suck it up and do it anyway. Hopefully, it will get a little easier after the book comes out, and I get some name recognition going.
On the bright side, I did set up some book signings, so I’ll be posting those dates in a few weeks when I get my schedule finalized. 🙂
What about you? Do you love promoting? Dread book signings? Inquiring minds want to know …
