Life or Death

I considered titling this thread something witty like "how not to choke on your own vomit", but I think the subject calls for something simpler, so "life or death", it is.

Many, many people have aspirations of getting a novel published. Some won't even finish scribbling their book idea onto the blank page. So out of the few who manage to finish writing a novel, a much smaller amount of writers will actually see their book published. I don't have numbers to show you, but trust me--the odds are daunting.

And there's more. Of those who actually get their book published, a big chunk won't go on to publish another book. A couple reasons for this: perhaps they realized how much work goes into the book once they manage to publish it, perhaps they run out of marketable ideas, perhaps their publisher drops them and they find it difficult to start over at square one again. There's a big difference between getting published and staying published and that difference, I believe, can be summed up in one word.

Self-promotion. (or is that two words?)

To be honest, I'm completely loathing the idea of book signings and dropping into bookstores to sign stock, but I'm fully prepared to do it. Because you have to be willing to bleed for your work. You have to be willing to get out there and show the public (and the publisher) that you believe in yourself enough to push your book into the public eye. It can mean the difference between staying published and being forgotten, between life and death for your writing career. And there's no better person to turn to when it comes to self-promotion inspiration than Joe Konrath. The man is a god. He could sell a glass of water to a drowning man. (not to mention he's ~damn~ funny and his books are highly addictive...and I don't even like cop books, really)

So even though I may be miles and miles (and miles) away from the self-promotion schtick...I've got my eye on it. 'Cuz hey, you never know.