Author Insight: The Public Eye

What is the most difficult part of keeping yourself and your book in the public eye?

 

"Writing a book people want to seek out. I am not one of those writers with the talent or inclination for self-promotion. My only strength is in my writing, such as it is. So my only hope of gaining fame is to keep writing. A lot. As well as I can." - Amy Kathleen Ryan, author of Glow.

"The fact that it is in the public eye at all is the hardest part to get used to. For so long, I was blogging and tweeting into the wind - which is like spitting into the wind, only less moist - and nobody took note. Now suddenly people are listening. So I have to watch more of what I say." - Brodi Ashton, author of Everneath.

"Do you mean trying to keep myself there, or trying to live with the eyes on you? Keeping myself there is an issue I’m still struggling with. Being there hasn’t been a problem so far. First off, there hasn’t been that much – nor will there be, if other author’s lives are any indication. But otherwise, I’m an amateur actress, so I love the attention and the limelight." - Anna Sheehan, author of A Long, Long Sleep.

"I think the biggest trick is in walking the line that divides persistent from annoying. No one likes someone who is "look at me" all the time. I think the way to get around that is to a) regularly promote people than yourself and b) spend most of your time not promoting anything at all just being funny, interesting, and honest. If you do that, I think people forgive you when it's time to promote your book." - Jeff Hirsch, author of The Eleventh Plague.

"There are now so many ways to connect with people using social networking, it’s not too hard to keep up a public persona. The challenge is to present information about what I do that people will enjoy and get something out of. For instance, I tweet a lot about things I like, such as animation and art history, and of course I pass on information about my books and events, but I try to strike a balance." -Teresa Flavin, author of The Blackhope Enigma.

 

"I think that thanks to the internet, that's less of an issue. Bloggers read my books and write about them, and do the work for me. Of course it would help if they only wrote favorable things, but that's not something I can control." -Susan Beth Pfeffer, author of Blood Wounds.

 

"Just the act of talking about myself, even if it’s a short Tweet, makes me very uncomfortable. I’m always afraid people are going to think I’m an egomaniac. I’m just now figuring out what about me and what I’m doing is interesting, and how to share it in a way that’s not just going to annoy people." - Jennifer Castle, author of The Beginning of After.

 

"It's not too hard when I just get to be myself on facebook and twitter. The hardest part is being self-promotional. It feels icky sometimes, but I know it's necessary, at least in small doses." - Melissa Walker, author of Small Town Sinners.

 

"By nature, I'm not comfortable selling myself. So, the most difficult part is actually doing anything." - Julia Karr, author of XVI.

" Thinking of something to blog about is a challenge for me. I feel sort of guilty always talking about my book, I don’t like to put too much personal stuff up there and I don’t have time to go in depth into writing topics.. Since my book hasn’t come out yet, I’ve yet to see what I need to do after release. I have several signings lined up at bookstores and then I have several conferences I’m attending, so hopefully that will give The Faerie Ring some good exposure. Basically, I’ve just sort of made it up as I go along and so far it’s going pretty good. I guess I’ll just keep doing that.'" - Kiki Hamilton, author of The Faerie Ring.

 

"Well, everyone is trying to keep themselves and their books in the public eye. Unless you have something really unique, I don't think you can really make the public pay attention. I focus on the writing, and I blog/Tweet because I enjoy it, and I try not to let it stress me out." - Jaclyn Dolamore, author of Between the Sea and Sky.

 

Find out Thursday how the rest of the authors keep their books and themselves in the public eye.  
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