The Worst Part of Authorship
My Living Room Bookshelves
I like being a writer. Not just the creative process, but everything that comes with it. Well, almost everything. I enjoy book launches and author readings. And I delight in responding to emails from people who like my work. But publicizing my novel—that’s a horse of a different colour.
It used to be that publishers did all the marketing. In tough times like these, however, they need the author’s help. And that’s a problem for writers like me.
For one thing, it requires skills that I don’t have. Internet skills, for example. Yesterday I received an email from the librarian of Elgin County Library in Ontario. She’d selected my novel for their digital book club and offered to tag me in their social posts if I sent her my social media handles. What social media handles? I didn’t even know what they were. (I asked Google; according to their definition, I don’t have any.)
Marketing also takes time away from writing. I started this business late in life and have a lot of catching up to do. So, I begrudge the hours I spend (or should spend) thinking about book sales rather than manuscript revisions.
Then there’s the problem of consumerism. Our economy seems to be based on us buying all kinds of things we don’t need. We overspend. Clutter up our houses. Contribute to excessive landfill.
(For the most part, I don’t like a house that’s crammed with stuff. But I make an exception when it comes to books. The above photo shows the filled shelves in my living room. And yes, I also have bookshelves in other rooms of my house. My husband complains. I tell him there are worse addictions.)
Finally, there’s the issue of self-promotion. One of my mother’s many aphorisms was “don’t blow your own horn.” Self-promotion feels too much like boasting, an offence against decorum. It’s undignified and makes excessive demands upon family and friends.
That said, I enormously appreciate your support. In purchasing my novel. Borrowing it from the library. Recommending it on Facebook and to your friends. Posting favourable reviews on Amazon (gasp!) and on Good Reads.
Given the atrocious support of Trump by many American corporations, you might want to consider what businesses you patronize. If you’re going to buy books, I suggest you support Canadian publishers. Canadian booksellers. And—although they have fine counterparts in the US— Canadian writers.
