I’m going to break my own rule again. Yeah, for real…
No, I’m not going to defy The Evil Redhead. That’s not “breaking a rule,” that’s “committing suicide.” Really. Just try it and see what happens.
So… Anyway… Back to breaking that rule. As you all know I despise writing about writing. I’m not even a big fan of writing about being an author. That’s what the book writing thing is all about. This, on the other hand, is my shot at being a humor columnist for a major metropolitan newspaper. Not that any major metropolitan newspapers are taking notice, mind you…
Yeah… That’s the rule I’m going to break. Well… Bend, more or less. I’m going to write about writing. Or more specifically, about what happens when you’ve written something and it gets published.
You see, there’s this thing in the industry called BSSP. That stands for Blatant Shameless Self-Promotion. Now this differs a bit from SP, which is just Self-Promotion. Why? Because those of us who engage in SP are ashamed. Well, not really. But we DO make it a point to show restraint, courtesy, and manners. Self-promotion is necessary. However, being like a cracked up used car salesman about it is not.
Allow me to give you an example…
Let’s say I’m having a conversation with someone:
Random Person says: “I had a really great corned beef sandwich at Bob’s Deli the other day.”
Murv says: “Never been there. I’ll have to take EK. She really loves corned beef.”
Now, let us imagine this conversation with a new author who has been bitten by the BSSP bug:
Random Person says: “I had a really great corned beef sandwich at Bob’s Deli the other day.”
BSSP Newbie says: “Well, since you like corned beef then you would love my new novel, The Pickling Brine Murders, because my main character Lazarus Q. Ladysmith always has corned beef sandwiches for lunch.”
Believe it or not, while the book and character name have been changed, the above example is NOT an exaggeration. Yes. Not only did it happen, but this sort of thing happens all the time.
Now I’ll be honest. We were all new once. I’m sure I did some self-promoting that toed that line just a bit – although I can guarantee you I was never as bad as the example. Fortunately, I settled down pretty quickly. Like I said before, self-promotion is a necessary evil. But if you pay attention you discover that you can be much more effective by selling yourself – not the book. Once you’ve done that, folks will generally buy your book. If you keep being an idiot, however, they will not only NOT buy your book, they will tell everyone they know to NOT buy it as well.
So… Why is this blog entry called “This Space NOT For Rent”?
Simple. The BSSP is happening all over the social networking sites too. On the FB Wall, on the Myspace Comments. It is running rampant. Just the other day I received a friend request from another author I’d never met and didn’t know from Eve. I approved it, no biggie. Less than 24 hours later a post appeared on my wall. It said, “Congratulations on your success! You deserve it!” I found these opening sentences a bit odd, because since we didn’t know one another she had no clue whether I deserved my successes or not. For all she knew I could be a complete ass.
In fact, I guess I am a complete ass because I removed the post and deleted her as a friend. Why? Because as I said, that was just the opening two sentences. The rest of her post contained several paragraphs about her new book along with links to the places where I could buy it. There was even a picture of the book cover.
Sorry honey. I am not a billboard company. This space not for rent…
More to come…
Murv
Doni (aka Alexx)
August 18th, 2010 at 07:03
Had one of those on my page recently combined with religion because he wrote the book because god saved his life.
Deleted both the post and the person too. I am not an author I write book reviews! I would always ask before posting to someones main page. I even send a copy of the review to the author before I post it.
If you do not do some self promotion you do not sell books. BUT… Shoving it down peoples throats is another.
M. R. Sellars
August 18th, 2010 at 07:21
Exactly… If someone asks what you do, or about one of your books, then that opens the door. I’m not above leaving a chapter sampler booklet in the seat pocket of an airplane, or in a hotel room when I check out. If a person asks about my books, I’ll give them a thumbnail sketch and hand them a bookmark. But insinuating your book into a conversation by hammering a square peg into a round hole is just off-putting – whether you do it in person or online. I try to give newbies a little slack because I DO understand being excited about having your book on the shelves. But, even knowing what I know, I can only give them so much rope. If they use it to hang themselves, well then, too bad for them. :-/
DS
August 18th, 2010 at 08:16
Murv – As long as I’ve known you, (which is a fair amount of time) you have always been pretty modest about your work. Plus, if you had ever acted like the example you cited, Tish & I would’ve smacked you – never mind what the Redhead would do to you!
M. R. Sellars
August 18th, 2010 at 09:18
Well, lemme see… You’ve known me since just before NBAW was officially released, so yeah, that’s a pretty good span. 😉
Saboo
August 18th, 2010 at 09:33
BSSP
WOW – good to know. Yep, I’ve seen it a couple of times – but never gave it much thought. Had no idea it had run rampant out there in the big bad world. LOL
But then I stay a bit disconnected LOL
luv ya Murv
and I agree – Not For Rent is great concept!
have a good day…
Bri
M. R. Sellars
August 18th, 2010 at 09:53
Heya Girly! How are things at your end?
Hugs!
Le Swerv…
Saboo
August 18th, 2010 at 12:16
Not really the correct place for this — but
Next week Aug 25th is my spine surgery. Gonna get my neck fixed once and for all Murv. So plz send me a little energy on the 25th if you can… : )
love ya
thanks for asking……..
I trust you and your crew are doing good? Hows the writing going? (my novel is still being tweaked by an editor lol)
(( hugs ))
You take care Murv
Miss you
glad I have your blogs to keep track a little
Bri
M. R. Sellars
August 18th, 2010 at 12:20
So far so good. 🙂
I’ll keep the energy flowing in your direction. 🙂
Gina
August 18th, 2010 at 14:41
However, Shameless Murv Promotion by one of the Ghoul Squad is encouraged.
In fact, I think when I first “met” you online, I was shamelessly promoting a book by another friend who writes children’s poetry. Sent you a book, too, as I recall.
I *like* promoting the work of my friends!
Hey! Read Murv’s books! He’s awesomer than anyone! Well, almost. EK is awesomer than Murv. 😉
M. R. Sellars
August 18th, 2010 at 15:03
ROFL!
Well, someone else tooting your horn is very different. (Minds out of the gutter, folks…) 😉