The Secrets Of Self Promotion

It doesn't have to feel painful but necessary, 'like flossing'...

This newsletter is dedicated to

Lucy Werner

. I was lucky enough to have a session with her, and she taught me so much. Paying subscribers can watch my masterclass with Lucy here.

If you preordered Pity Party - a) thank you so much, and b) I’m really looking forward to seeing you at the fiction masterclass this Sunday, 21 July at 12PM, on Zoom. If you can’t make it, it will be available to watch on catch up!

The Secrets of Self Promotion

The more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed I’m doing a very small, subtle amount of book promo at the moment. (PITY PARTY IS OUT NOW PITY PARTY IS OUT NOW PITY PARTY IS OUT NOW). I’m in the middle of my book tour, writing this from an hotel in Manchester where the in-room telly has a slightly spooky ‘looping aquarium’ effect, so this piece may be laced with the odd ‘Help! Where did that fish come from?!’

I think we all find it difficult to promote our work, no matter what we do. We have moments of feeling strong, confident and excited. And probably more moments where we’re plagued by anxiety, insecurity and self-doubt. Having creative work to share is thrilling, but it makes us feel deeply vulnerable, too. This is my sixth book campaign in seven years. I’ve made so many mistakes in those seven years. I’ve been wildly overconfident. I’ve been sullen, sulky and scared. I’ve poured huge amounts of effort and energy into trying to change things I have absolutely no control over. And I’ve eaten a lot of late night Tesco Metro egg sandwiches.

This is the most important thing I have learned. I find it very easy to convince myself that things are going very badly. I tend to feel this way when I’ve had a late night, I’m away from home, I’ve slept badly and my routine has been knocked out of shape. Also, I have the privilege of meeting a lot of readers and booksellers, and I love doing this. But these interactions require so much energy from me, and I don’t get the chance to replenish that energy before I have to go and do it again. And when I’m tired, but wired, and my brain is slippery, I’m not well placed to make smart, happy decisions.

So when we’re promote anything, whether it’s a Pulitzer prize winning novel, or a Parish newsletter, it’s vital that we’re very gentle with ourselves. I’ve learned that when I start feeling especially anxious or panicky, I need to close my eyes for ten minutes, and put down my phone and my coffee. I want to give my work the very best chance of sticking the landing. That doesn’t mean doing the most. It means making sure that what I choose to do is the most fun. (For me, that means collaboration, dressing up, and making sure that I try an ice cream in every new town I visit…)

If you’re an author too, you’ll know that marketing budgets are shrinking, the publishing landscape is especially challenging, and it’s harder than ever to secure marketing and PR opportunities through the people who are publishing your book. This is, at best, frustrating. (At worst, it can feel quite wounding.) And yes – like you, I wish we were doing this 30 years ago, and that there was money for this sort of thing, and that ‘author’ was our only job, and we didn’t have to assume the mantle of ‘publicist’ and ‘marketeer’ because teams of people would be on it. But there’s something to be said for coming to terms with the world as it is in this moment, and acting accordingly, rather than sulking about the fact that everything was better in the past. It has taken me a long time to learn this, but I believe the best thing we can do is approach the process as a team player. If we keep showing enthusiasm and initiative, while allowing ourselves and our publishers a little latitude, our efforts will probably be recognised and rewarded.

Think of the two real people who will love it – not the imaginary two million people who may hate it.

We publicise a book the same way we write a book. If we think about getting infinite, theoretical people on side, we start to worry about what they hate, what’s going to piss them off, how to best avoid upsetting them. Nothing good can come from this. We get a sort of nauseating social vertigo, and we become frozen. So think about your dream reader, or the person you’re closest to. Think about you. Think about your all-time favourite adverts, the essays that live in your heart, the videos you’ve seen that have made you laugh. Make something that you believe your one dream reader will connect with and respond to. Your voice will be clear and true, and your efforts will land.

This is a victory lap.

It’s hard to hold this in the forefront of your mind – but you’ve already done the most challenging work. Your promotional campaign isn’t a time to say ‘Please like this, please like me,’ – it’s your chance to say ‘Wow! Look! I made something! This was challenging! This took an enormous amount of sustained concentration! This has changed me, I've become a different person to the one I was when I went into this! I have no control over what happens next. But I had control over this! I put my all into it, and I am very, very proud.’ If we can keep these feelings at our core when we talk about our work, it will make us feel much more comfortable and confident when we’re promoting our work.

Make it as much fun as you possibly can.

I’m not a video person. I’m a writing person. I suspect you are, too. That’s why we’re all on Substack! But I had so much fun making this

thedaisybee

A post shared by @thedaisybee

I loved coming up with the concept, I loved coming up with the costumes, I loved hanging out with my brilliant friend Becky who came over to help me film. This is the sort of thing I would have done if I’d had an iphone when I was a child. (I mean, thank goodness I didn’t, but…) If you’re stuck for ideas, see if you can talk to a ten year old. Make the process as playful as possible. I’ve had such a glorious time making my silly videos that I genuinely don’t mind if no-one likes them. I got so much joy out of embracing the sheer ridiculousness of the project, and it’s stoked my inner fire.

You’re promoting your creative work – so get creative!

Trust yourself. If you panic and think of self-promotion as something you have to do, something you hate, and something you’ll probably be bad at, the process will feel miserable. No amount of success will soothe this feeling, and you’ll end up resenting your book, and everyone else involved.

This isn’t a scary challenge where you must seek as much attention as you can. This is a celebration of your ability to come up with ideas. And you love coming up with ideas, because that’s how you made the project you’re promoting! What would you make, if you had ten million pounds? Who would your dream endorsement come from? Can you incorporate cake? How would you showcase your project without using any words? Be as big, bold and outlandish as you dare. I think you’ll be surprised and delighted by where it leads you.

Sustainability is vital

In The Year Of Our Internet 2024, the opportunities for self-promotion are theoretically limitless. This is wonderful and terrible news. I’ve become burned out by trying to do all the things, all at once. If, like me, you have a neurodivergent brain, you might come up with hundreds and thousands of ideas and thoughts for things you could do, and you’ll want to do them all now. Then you’ll feel overwhelmed and exhausted almost instantly. Your project is the work of a lifetime. No matter what it is, you’ve used years of experience, talent, effort and feelings to make it. And you have forever to promote it. We’re made to feel as though we’ve got to do everything as quickly as possible. However, everything we make has a much longer life than it used to, because there are so many places where our work can be shared and discovered.

Finding your pace might take a bit of trial and error. It’s like running – go slightly slower than your maximum capacity, and you can keep going for a lot longer. For me, collaborating with other creative people gives me the joy and sense of connection I need to keep fuel in the tank. Shouting about other people’s work with genuine enthusiasm makes me feel more comfortable when I’m sharing my own. Most of all, I try to approach everything as an experiment. I’m curious. Instead of setting myself a 100% pass mark, and needing everything to work instantly and brilliantly, I try to treat myself as a new student. I’d love to know more about effective marketing and PR. So I’m learning by doing. The failures are the moments when I feel disconnected from myself. The successes are the moments when I feel ease and joy.