There’s a gender divide, too.<\/p>\n

While men can be just as uncomfortable as women putting themselves out there to talk about their book in a way that attracts media and book buyer attention, more women than men tell me they’re uncomfortable with the process.<\/p>\n

Many women — including me — were raised to believe we shouldn’t call attention to ourselves or our work, so we feel “shameless” when we do it. In reality, as long as you’re not being obnoxious, it’s just good business.<\/p>\n

I try to help reluctant promoters\u00a0see that they’re not talking about themselves. They’re talking about their book, and their book is going to help people. It’s an important difference.<\/p>\n

Think of it as a public service announcement<\/h3>\n

In fact, you’re doing a public service when you do what it takes to get the word out about your book. That might sound like a stretch, but think about it. You wrote your book to educate, enlighten, entertain, or inform, right?<\/p>\n

How can you do that if nobody knows about it?<\/p>\n

It’s up to you to tell them about it.<\/p>\n

But do it in a way that’s comfortable for both you and the people you’re trying to reach. If you’re a gentle soul, then reach out gently, in your own way. If you tend to be hard-charging and aggressive, then we’d be surprised if you didn’t approach book promotion the same way (whether we like it or not).<\/p>\n