• The Do's and Don'ts of Self-Promotion (Michael J. Seidlinger, Marketing & Publicity, Authors Guild, 1-31-17)
People best connect with the work of someone they can relate to. Moreover, readers stick around and follow an author if they develop a stake in his or her career. By being involved in a community, you are able to see things from all sides. People will get to know you as someone dynamic and genuine. You will be far more successful promoting your work when it doesn’t feel like a sales pitch to both you and those that might be there to listen.
• For Whom the Shill Toils (Paul Devlin, Book Blitz, Slate, 10-13-06) A book of Hemingway arcana, Hemingway and the Mechanism of Fame: Statements, Public Letters, Introductions, Forewords, Prefaces, Blurbs, Reviews, and Endorsements (2006), demonstrates that when self-promotion is done by a marketing master, it can approximate art. Unlike, say, his retiring contemporary and chief competitor William Faulkner, Hemingway had many of his exciting exploits recorded by press photographers. He got in on everything, even the D-Day invasion. He was always showing up in some high-circulation magazine like Life with a big fish on the hook or hunting rifle in hand. His visage was (and is) immediately recognizable. And he had no problem letting that familiar visage appear in ads, for which he also wrote the copy. Read More