Oprah, Here I come.

When your best asset becomes your worst enemy.

Truth be told, I had a lofty goal in mind a few years ago about becoming a writer. I even created a vision board that stated I would write and publish a book, AND it would be featured in Oprah’s book club. I imagined myself in her awesome garden chatting about the inspirational prose I put to paper. I know that I was shooting for the stars, but setting a big target made it fun to dream.

After finally publishing my first book (albeit self-published), I could breathe a sigh of relief momentarily when Chasing Picasso officially launched on April 15, 2023, World Art Day. I’m still waiting to sit across from Oprah. Perhaps a book about an unsolved case of a stolen Picasso is not exactly fodder for her book club. But, even if it were, the chances of getting Oprah’s attention requires marketing skill.

With over thirty years of marketing under my belt, this should have been easy. I had retired from my marketing career at the top of the corporate ladder and had been involved in every aspect of marketing on my journey to the executive suite. Even within the “promotion” aspect, where I had logged countless hours for the company, its brands, products, and services, and even colleagues, there was something I never had to do, and it was the main requirement for a writer—self-promotion.

All the other skills I had accelerated my writing path, including book research, writing, production, publishing, and maneuvering the distribution channels to reach audiences worldwide. But all of it it a waste of time unless I get over this disdain for self-promotion which is the only way to sell more than the average new author book sales (which is 250 copies in a lifetime.)

Here’s the kicker. I knew how much I hated promoting myself and giving sales pitches before I wrote the book. It never crossed my mind that it would be a potential problem when I was building the book’s marketing plan. I was focused on what I needed to do, starting with the power of the media to promote the story.

I chose to publish Chasing Picasso on the 50th anniversary of the Picasso painting being stolen. I knew I would be able to get media attention because 1) it was a missing Picasso, 2) stolen from a prestigious art museum, and 3) most people had never heard of the story. And the strategy worked at least until I did my best to sabotage it.  I got the word out and had the ability to remarket early interviews to keep the book in the spotlight, expanding its reach. But I didn’t account for how uncomfortable I would be with being at the center of the marketing plan. With every interview, my anxiety grew.

So, when I faced some other challenges, it became easier to talk myself out of new self-promotion opportunities. First, I broke my ankle in a grassy hole at the park less than two weeks after the book kickoff. It would be at least six weeks before I could participate in any book signing events. Should that have mattered? Probably not, but I justified it as an excuse to lay low and not move forward with any media outreach.

Then I also had fears about the story stirring up others who preferred the tale of stolen art to stay forgotten. I had legitimate reasons for those concerns, but my imagination ran wild with bleak scenarios where Chasing Picasso has to be pulled from the market. A product of my imagination, or a secret wish to avoid sales pitches about my work.

I acted on fear and decided to go with a marketing tactic that had less exposure and risks. I shifted my promotional efforts to social media. In fact, it was something I would never have recommended to a marketing client in the same position.

Social media of course is a faceless medium. When you want to avoid real self-promotion, start a Facebook Author page. The same pseudo protection that compels people to air their personal drama on Facebook, in all caps, with no punctuation, and absolutely no concern as to who, or if anyone, reads it.

Sadly, I could only wish my posts stirred the passionate banter of online mamma drama. A vile response is better than no response at all on social media because content lives or dies with engagement. If I happen to get a few likes, well then maybe the social media gods will open that post for more of my Facebook or Instagram followers to read, and in a timely manner preferably. I recently earned 153 likes for a “reel” that promoted a book signing I did in mid-June, which was a completely useless post in September when I started getting likes.

It was time to face fears and rethink the approach, starting with a better reader engagement tool.  Hence, I decided to try Substack since it is author-friendly. Also, in order to fulfill my ultimate dream of publishing a book worthy of Oprah’s attention, I must learn to be vulnerable with my readers—something else I avoided like the plague. Sharing the new writing journey forces me to talk about myself and my experiences, and one day perhaps, it will make me comfortable enough to stop cringing at the thought of self-promotion.