Can you Really Sell Books Without Selling Out?
Self-Publishing Even When you Hate Marketing
I recently wrote a humour piece for The Haven called The Last Non-Marketer on Earth. It might seem like I love talking about my own books, but in reality, I face crippling doubts when writing ‘buy it now’ content.
It’s no different when I try to sell a copy in person. Recently, I presented my book to a family friend saying, “Well, I have to try and talk you into buying my book.”
“Oh, you’re too kind,” she said, stuffing the book straight into her handbag. “Thank you very much.”
I was so embarrassed, I just took the ‘L’ and pretended I didn’t want her to pay.
If I’m selling a service in my ghostwriting business and I get a ‘no’, that’s not a problem. But getting rejected when selling the very book that contains part of your soul is crushing. Hearing crickets when you post about it online is almost as bad.
Book promo for Before. During. After. has been on my to-do list for months:
chasing reviews, writing posts, taking photos.
I’d rather try to sell bananas at the local market (there’s a lot of competition in the Canary Islands). Instead of marketing, I will literally clean the house from top to bottom, polish the…
