Tayari's Blog: Publicity and Poverty
Posted by TayariJones on April 19, 2006 06:42 AM
Filed under
The Writing Life
I just saw this article about a writer who gambled his savings to raise cash to promote his novel. Folks, this is a bad idea.
For one thing, publicity efforts are gambles themselves. You can hire a publicist, buy ads, give a million readings, and the book still may not "catch on." This is just a fact of publishing life.
Of course, publicity helps. It is vital to getting the word out. I have written here a million times about how much my publicity tag team of Lauren and Linda have helped me gain crucial visibility with my second novel, The Untelling. My message here is not that publicity is unneccesary.
What I really want to say is that a writer should not go into debt or risk her savings to pay for publicity. You could very well end up with nothing. And having lost you savings you put yourself in a vulnerable financial position which will cause you to work extra hours, take in more freelancing, give more readings. All of this will zap your time and energy which you need to WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!
(via ed)
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There are 2 comments on "Publicity and Poverty". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Jackie ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
OK, I read the article and while I am too socialized to take that kind of risk, I often admire those people who are willing to do it. I wouldn't consider it a sound strategy, but what is life but one big risk taking adventure???
April 19, 2006 09:08 AM
Comment #2, by Michael Fischer
Man, I'm glad it worked out for him in the end, but I agree: not a good idea. The chances of any writer making a living off of his or her work are what, .0000000001%? Keep the savings and find "cheaper" ways to promote your book and get to work on your second book ASAP.
April 19, 2006 09:13 AM