Poets as Publicists: Believe It to Be It

In my previous post of this series on poets seeking publicists, I delved into the subject of publisher-provided publicists, publicist supplementation, and why — mostly due to financial reasons — most poets will have to lead their PR efforts, often on their own, for their books.

Here, with any luck, I’m going to help you overcome some of your objections to handling your own PR and marketing for your book.

Generally, poets bristle at the idea of publicizing their own books for three primary reasons:

1. They have beliefs that get in their way.
2. They have a knowledge gap that gets in their way.
3. They have a lack of bandwidth that gets in their way.

Let’s start with the first, since I find that’s often the most difficult one poets struggle with.

Belief-based objections manifest themselves in the form of statements like the following:

• I’m too shy/introverted/scared for that.
• I’m just starting out/this is my first book, so who’s going to want to talk to me?
• That’s my press’s/publisher’s/anybody besides me’s responsibility.
• Nothing would come of it anyway, no matter how hard I try, so why bother?
• Self-promotion is so icky/smarmy/annoying, and who wants to be that guy?

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

I may not be able to change anyone’s mind who believes any or all of these things. But I will try to a) help you recognize that these are beliefs/assumptions, not facts, and b) provide some new ways to think about the whole PR thing that may help you move forward with an effort anyway, even if you never fully dispel any of these beliefs.

• Lots of writers are shy/introverted/scared; they publicize their books anyway. One cool thing about PR and marketing is that you have choices in how you approach it that you can tailor to your comfort level. Dread public speaking? Then think about alternates to in-person readings, such as virtual events, or make your own recordings and post them on social media instead. Even the shiest writers are still writers, which means at the very least, written responses to questions as part of an interview are still a possibility, even for the most timid among us. Know the options and choose accordingly based on your comfort level.
• Writers are starting out all the time and entering the fold, and folks actually love to hear about new anything, especially debuts! Sometimes writers — new and old — get emotionally paralyzed by impostor syndrome. But guess what? Literally every single writer you’ve ever heard of started off right where you were: the beginning! You don’t have to have 100 or even one book out to be worthy of community; everyone has inherent worth, period. You are worthy, and your work is worthy. So seek out the folks in the community who value others and connect with them. Seek out outlets you’ve published pieces with and that share news of debuts, and share yours with them to start. (And one day, look back and pay it forward to folks who were once in your shoes, just starting out, and share the sense of community and what you’ve learned along the way with them.)
• While it might be helpful for your press/publisher/anybody besides you to be involved in or leading your publicity effort, that’s an expectation, not a reality, in most cases, and you need to adapt accordingly. You do you and your book no justice whatsoever clinging to the belief that someone else should be handling the PR effort for you once it becomes apparent the folks you expect to handle your PR effort aren’t going to be able to for whatever reason. And again, even if someone were leading or assisting with your book’s publicity, this does not absolve you from having to be involved. You are still the person who needs to be there for readings, provide interview responses, go on the podcasts, etc. — at minimum. Other folks may know how to pitch it better because they may have that expertise, but you will always be the one who knows your work best. And you published something because you believed it should exist in a world besides the one you created it in (i.e., your notebook, computer, etc.). Why would you disengage once publication happens and leave it entirely to chance that anyone would ever hear about it?
• You never really know what might happen with most things in life until you try. Giving up before you even begin is the “easy” route — except later, you realize it wasn’t easy because you come to understand it actually costs you a lot. It’s difficult to face the regret you’ll likely feel when you look back and realize you never even tried and won’t ever know what might have happened for you and your work if you had. Self-defeating attitudes are difficult to overcome, but thankfully not impossible to overcome. Even if, in the extremely rare case that all your PR efforts fall flat and you don’t get any placements/coverage — which I highly, highly doubt, unless you’re doing something off-the-wall or offensive (in which case, reach out to someone who knows about these things and ask) — you learn so much and make new connections through trying, regardless of outcome. In fact, I would recommend making those very things — learning and connecting — your primary PR goal because those things are guaranteed and completely within your control … and often lead to more opportunities in the future!
• Self-promotion is really only icky/smarmy/annoying to you when a) it’s done poorly or b) you’re actually just jealous. This one does take a bit of introspection and willingness to be honest with oneself. But do you take the position that self-promotion is icky because someone is spamming everyone daily with their book links — which is actually icky but that few people actually do — or do you take the position that self-promotion is icky because someone else has the courage you lack to actually do it and/or has landed coverage you’d hoped for? Just some food for thought …

In my next couple posts, I’ll delve into overcoming the knowledge and bandwidth gaps. Stay tuned …

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