Your very own champion.
“YOU need to be your own champion. If you’re not going to sing the praises of your own book, then why should anyone else?”
This is what Helen Lewis (founder of Literary PR) said at a recent Author School writers’ day. Until this point, I actually thought I was ‘OK’ at pushing my debut book. On second thoughts…I’m actually not as proficient as I thought. When I think about how I would rave about somebody else’s book if I loved to read it…or speak up about the amazing new cake shop in town, I realise that I’m not raving about my own book any where near enough.
Does that mean I don’t think that the book I wrote is amazing? No. Now, bragging really isn’t attractive and us Brits don’t like to big ourselves up, but now I’ve reached a certain point in my life, I finally have the confidence to step back and look at my work and admit to myself that it’s worthy and something to be proud of. As it happens, I do think that Never Alone deserves to be shared far and wide. Not only is it a touching story, a beautiful legacy for a little girl named Louise, beautifully illustrated by my incredible, artistic wingman, but it has also helped to raise a whopping £15,000 in less than 5 months for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
So why is it so hard to do a good job when it comes to cheerleading your own ‘product’?
There are sooooo many different ways and means to share information. Twitter is the first one that comes to mind when it comes to publishing books and although it took me a while to succumb to the ways of the Tweeting world, I do think it’s a valuable platform. Then there’s Insta…Facebook…TikTok (don’t get me started on TikTok…literally, DON’T get me started on another socials platform - my ironing will NEVER get done!). The whole world of social media can appear overwhelming and time consuming, but honestly? If you can’t decide where to do your ‘shouting’, then just choose one place that you’re happy to absorb yourself in a few hours a week.
British reserve. I think as time goes by, shyness and conservatism is beginning to filter out, but to an extent, it definitely factors in when it comes to speaking out about our successes.
Fear of criticism. “Don’t get upset by criticism. Value the fact that at least someone noticed what you did.” (Chris Ware). You can hide from criticism or you can utilise it to increase your own strength. We all know that you can’t please everyone, so there’s no point in worrying about something that is inevitably going to happen. The more exposure you get (or the more exposure you give yourself), the more chance of criticism; but is your fear of negativity from a few strangers more of a drive than your desire to create and succeed? If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never get it!
Ask yourself: Why should anyone read my book (even if it’s only me!)?
In reality, it’s a question that comes up before you even put pen to paper (or finger tips to keys). WHY are you writing it? Who is the book aimed at? What’s it about?
So why?
Because the content will be relevant, appealing and inspiring to somebody.
Because inside you, there’s a desire for those words to be written, so it deserves to be read.
Because somebody somewhere will have an interest in your fictional world or for the facts on your pages.
Because, somebody will have a connection with the subject or characters.