We’re taught from a young age not to brag. Don’t boast. Don’t get conceited. And yet, when you’re an author, especially an independent one, you’ve got to tell people about your books. And the disconnect that can happen in our minds is big. Trust me. It’s really big.
When you look at the coaching community there’s a lot of talk around “know your value” and “charge what you’re worth”. And this is important, but as an author, often you don’t get to set the price of your books even if you think you do. You set the price in accordance with market factors. However, “know your value” goes hand in hand with the biggest and best piece of advice that I can give authors (and I need to work on myself).
Be your own best cheerleader. No one can cheer as loudly for your books as you can.
You made a book! It is not boasting or being conceited or being a huckster to tell people about your books. So share the occasional tweet or Facebook post. Even schedule them in advance and make sure they post every day, or in the case of Twitter a few times a day since the platform moves so quickly.
It’s okay. We’ll cheer along with you. And hopefully we’ll help you spread the word and even, maybe, buy or review your book.