Self-Promotion
My reflection this morning is on self-promotion. As a writer in today’s market, the only way to sell books—outside of having a very well known person on radio or TV give you a recommendation—is pure self-promotion. Setting up book signings at every nook and cranny you can find, having cards made to pass out to everyone, websites, etc. It’s a full-time job, and somewhat expensive, really. . For two reasons I have failed at this part of the writing profession, although I think my writing is good. One is time—I have a full-time job that pays the bills and am in a doctoral program. Not much time for anything else beyond relationships. Second is my personality and values orientation. As a Christian I have had it beaten into me that “He must increase and I must decrease.” There may be a line that one can walk between self-promotion and humility, but I haven’t found it yet. For every minute one spends in self-promotion, one is taken away from the real work. In m