Why Are Writers Expected To Do So Much Self-Promotion? | by Janice Harayda | The Pub
A DISTURBING TREND
A disturbing trend has taken root in book publishing. Publishers and literary agents seem to expect writers to hold down two full-time jobs: writing their books and promoting them on social media and elsewhere.
I’ve written about the fallacy that typically underlies this expectation: A lot of evidence shows that nonstop self-promotion helps big-name authors sell more books but has few — if any — financial benefits for others.
That dovetails with what I saw as the book editor of a large newspaper, a job that involved interviewing authors from pop-culture stars like John Grisham to Nobel laureates like Toni Morrison and Derek Walcott.
Small- or no-name writers often fail to earn back what they spend on services like editing and cover design and on activities like travel to book fairs and signings. That doesn’t count the opportunity cost of paid work lost to time spent on marketing and self-promotion.
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