A Deep Dive into the Writers’ Publicity Hustle
A popular social media influencer (+1M on TikTok) just released a book. It’s been highly anticipated (in her targeted community), highly rated (over 1600 Amazon reviews with 4.4 star average), and widely shared.
Last week I saw her reaching out to the author community on Threads, bemoaning that despite the fact that she has a huge following and the book launched with rave reviews, it has recieved zero publicity.
As someone who has quietly watched her platform, witnessed the acceptance of her book deal, and followed the journey from draft to published, I was GOBSMACKED.
GODSMACKED, I TELL YOU.
Because what do you mean your book has had zero publicity?
She’s been interviewed by CBC.
She was on Breakfast Television.
CBS News Los Angeles interviewed her for television and streaming sites.
She’s guested on huge podcasts and done Instagram lives with creators who have massive platforms.
She’s been on a big North American book tour and is appearing before sold-out crowds.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR BOOK HAS HAD ZERO PUBLICITY?
Earlier this week she posted that she’d made the Toronto Star bestseller list.
GOBSMACKED!
Yes, I know, comparison is the thief of joy, but as a romantic stuggling artist who gets excited if I can sell ONE BOOK A DAY, I’m watching her complain and feeling a little bit of rage bubbling in my soul.
What I would give up for the kind of publicity she’s received:
access to watch The Office whenever I feel like it
my heated blanket
coffee
the pillow of John Travolta’s face that sits on my bed
That is to say, I would forfeit the casual joy of daily indulgences in order to share my books with the world.
That is not to say that I condone selling your soul for a kick at the 15-minutes-of-fame-can, but there is enough platform to go around and can’t we all just be grateful for what we get?
I don’t have a million-plus audience to rely on. What I do have is guts, tenacity, a stubborn refusal to stop hustling, and a deep artists’ belief that I create things worthy of recognition.
I too feel like my work gets zero publicity, but it’s good and healthy to look back and catch that lie it’s so easy to tell myself.
Posing with my book for the millionth time because this is how I stay relevant in a very loud space…
No, I haven’t been interviewed by CBC, but they have said my name and the names of my books at various times on different bookish shows. I’ve had a book launch aired on local television. I’ve had various reviews and press releases published in newspapers across South Western Ontario. My books and different readings and signing events have been touted on local and not-so-local radio stations. I’ve been interviewed on some cute little podcasts in Canada and the UK. My books are in libraries across the country.
I will never say I get no publicity. But I will say that I’ve hustled for every single opportunity, big and small.
A Word on HUSTLE
There is no such thing as an overnight success. Even the woman with the huge social platform started from zero. There are very few people who “make it” without working incredibly hard. In a culture riddled with entitlement, I’m proud to be part of the movement that believes in hard work. Do I like marketing? No. Do I wish I only had to focus on writing great stories for a guaranteed readership that will buy everything I produce? Of course.
I recently sat on a panel about Writing and Money and I shared about how I think writers need to approach their craft with the brain of a small business owner. So much of writing is about passion, but nothing survives on passion alone. Pragmatism needs to sit on the other side of that passion coin: that is what’s going to push you to new heights, to saying yes to opportunities that might make you uncomfortable, to being the kind of person who cold calls a bookstore because you have faith in yourself.
Fear is an active faith. Confidence is an act of faith. And I’m choosing the latter, because what else is there?
I work with authors who bemoan their low sales and yet won’t step outside their cozy little writing zone to be AN AUTHOR. The idea of authorship has been too deeply romantized. Anyone can be a writer, but to proudly hold the mantle of capital-a-Author I truly believe you need to step outside yourself, outside the romance, outside the comforting company of your characters, and into the BLAZING FIRE OF PLEASE LOOK AT ME!
Being an AUTHOR means being humbled when only two people show up to one of your readings. Being an AUTHOR means being gracious when someone tosses you an atta girl but then tells you how apocalyptic fiction isn’t really for them. Being an AUTHOR means sacrificing weekends to be present at opportunities that may or may not lead to more sales. Being an AUTHOR means actively chasing the romantic dream of being such a household name that the only showing up you have to do is at your writing desk. (I’m looking at you, Stephen King.)
Because let’s be real, the hustle is still about the end game—the idea that someday we will have hustled enough that we can do the thing that got us into this mess in the first place and just write.
I don’t think I’ll need to give up coffee anytime soon. (And that’s a good thing because it’s an important tool in my aresenal of GET TO WORK.) And, if I’m being completely honest, I kind of love the hustle. I love projecting an air of busyness because it makes me feel productive; it makes me feel connected; it makes me feel like when I finally make it, it will be because I’ve earned it. And if nothing else, it’s really good to have a goal.
Pssst… blogging is a hustle too.
Send me an atta girl by grabbing a copy of When The Trees All Burned. 😉
