Depending on your gumption, promoting a book can be a lot of fun, or absolute torture. I often tell my graduate writing students that the best day in a writer's life is the day before publication, and the worst day is when a book actually comes out. Why?
Because when you finally publish something, you lose complete control.
Up until publication day, you can only imagine what people will think. Once it's out? People will think what they want to think. Daunting? Absolutely. Thrilling? Oh yes. There will be criticism and there will be love. People will tweet nastiness toward you for one thing or another, or send you an email praising your work and letting you know how you've had an impact on their life. There are a lot of ups and downs. My advice remains the same each time: say "yes" to everything you can, listen to your friends and family, and pick up a review or two if you dare.
I recently sat bursting with pride at a Barnes & Noble in New York to hear my dear friend
Catherine Pearlman, aka THE FAMILY COACH, give a book talk on her latest, Ignore It! How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction. In front of a packed house, Catherine settled her nerves, read from her book, offered some funny and useful anecdotes (really useful -- Catherine is why my child sleeps!), and answered question after question. She then signed some fifty books, taking time to talk to each person who patiently waited in line to see her. It was a command performance.
I can't wait to do it all again. ONE GOAL is coming.
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