After all these years as an author and blogger, self-promotion still doesn't come naturally to me. I find it much easier to promote other people, books and places rather than to extol my own virtues.
You may find this strange, since I'm in so many social media groups, and I seem to be all over the place. Yes, I am, but once the basics are down, you don't find out much more. Once in a while I'll slip in a reference to one of my books, but I have a feeling I could have done so a lot more often, but haven't bothered.
I've passed over many opportunities for promotion because it seems so much more difficult to convince others of my own capabilities than to convince them how wonderful my friends, fellow bloggers, or even strangers are.
One of the reasons is something I learned long ago, which is nobody likes a braggart. Another reason, I'm afraid, is laziness. It's a lot simpler to let others answer my questions, than to be the one on the receiving end and have to think up what to say about myself. Another reason is probably disorganizaition. I need to keep a FAQ list with answers to frequent questions handy, so I can answer them easily.
As part of my new disciplined attitude toward being an author, part of which involves my setting the 1,000 word goal each day, I've decided to be more aggressive toward self-promotion. I've already set up a new Facebook page specifically to detail my progress on my work in progress, Forever Young, to keep me on the right path to finishing my goal in that respect. I've also accepted requests for interviews by two bloggers,
April Pohren and
Mike Manno, and will be appearing on their blogs. First, I have to finish their interview questions. Then I'll let you know when I'll be there.(G)
What about you? Is it easier for you to promote or self-promote? You don't have to be an author to answer this question. It can apply to other areas of your life as well.
Morgan Mandel
http://facebook.com/foreveryoungbook
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