The Cycle of Suck

Or, how writers talk themselves out of promoting their own work

This is how the cycle of suck works. You’re a writer, hoping to get more eyes on your work. You’ve seen other people doing it, so you give it a try. You don’t have a huge publisher behind you, throwing wads of cash at it, it’s pretty much just you on your own. You get to thinking.

You set something up, a blog or a newsletter. You think to yourself, if I build it, they will come. You set out with a song in your heart. You put up your first article or send your first email. There’s a little engagement (internet code for applause). And that’s good. You’re just starting so you’re not expecting much. You keep going.

Then weeks turn into months. You’ve been regularly posting, doing your thing just the same, but the new follows have dropped off. Why? You were doing well, weren’t you? You look at the others out there doing the same thing. They seem to keep getting more and more follows, why don’t you?

The event horizon approaches…

And so the cycle of suck begins…

You keep throwing the same thing out and it keeps sinking. You get depressed and feel like it’s all useless.

You’ve got a newsletter. You’ve written a few social posts. Where is everyone?

Why haven’t you won a Hugo Award? Broken the magic review number that tips the algorithms your way? Had enough sales to break even? Got a starred review in Publishers Weekly? Been approached by NetFlix to turn your short story into the next smash hit series?

Why are your authorial dreams not coming true? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?

You convince yourself that no-one wants to hear from you anyway, so your output stutters, until finally, it stops. It wasn’t working. You’re just not popular / clever / pretty enough to “win” at this game. So why bother?

No-one wants to hear from you, so no-one gets to hear from you. They forget you exist, because people are largely object-impermanent toddlers. You got tired of being that dancing monkey. You’ve talked yourself out of popularity.

Self-esteem and artistic expression are inevitably intertwined. You put a little piece of your soul on show for others. Lack of uptake on your efforts becomes a reflection, in your mind, of your own worth, rather than what’s actually going on there.

Top ten habits of people who suck at self-promo

1. Put a single post up on social media about the thing they want eyes on. Hope for likes and reposts. Cross fingers. Keep schtum when it doesn’t go very far. Never repost it, because that’s gauche.
2. Don’t reach out to podcasts, reviewers, industry news blogs to ask if they’d like to chat about their new book.
3. Don’t join any associations or societies, and if they do, never mention their work because no-one will care.
4. Never attend conferences or conventions, or if they do, don’t put themselves forward for panel or readings, because they’re nobody, so why would anyone want to hear what they’ve got to say?
5. Only post plain link posts on social media to their book’s sales page and nothing else. Don’t talk about what’s actually in it, or who might enjoy it. Be mysterious!
6. Share nothing of themselves or their life, never put their face on anything because they tell themselves they’re not good-looking enough.
7. Compare themself negatively to more popular writers and tell themselves they’ll never be one of the popular kids.
8. Expect to do as well as people who’ve been given a massive marketing budget by one of the big five publishers, and be disappointed when it doesn’t happen.
9. Never try to get their work seen in anthologies or magazines or competitions or…
10. Give up! Go away! Shut up and hide!

Breaking the cycle

The people making it work are those that keep dancing. Keep plastering on that fake grin; they shill, they grind, they hustle, they push as much as they can, and that’s why they keep their momentum growing.

It takes energy. The truth is it’s not easy and it’s not accessible to everyone.

Many of the people you compare yourself to are also closer to the seat of power, the American dollar. UK people aren’t as invested in celebrity. Not the ones who read books, anyway. You do have to treat them differently or you have to get an IN with the US crowd and let that momentum take you along.

But people are people. They do trust recognisable figures more than strangers – how else do you explain so many TV personalities having book deals? So, make yourself just that little bit more recognisable. That means putting yourself out there.

You can’t just do nothing and expect that to work. You also can’t expect people to like you and buy your books for no reason other than “they should”. You have to build it, but you also have to market it, pay for advertising, build the best seating and sell popcorn if you want them to come.

Practical approaches for UK writers to promo

Find your community

Readers are out there and they often hang out together, either in the physical or the online world. There are societies, associations, conventions, book fairs and festivals, writers’ critique groups…

Not only can they be a source of new, engaged and primed readers, but in turn, they can provide resources, outlets for your promotional activities,

Don’t approach a group with exploiting them in mind. Mutual support is the key. You are offering something valuable as a writer – escape, entertainment, imagination, catharsis. That’s valuable, especially today.

DO make a scene

Talking about your work positively is something stamped down in British culture because “no-one likes a show off” and “don’t be big-headed”. And generally that’s true. But talking about what you love about your work is not the same as saying you’re better than everyone else. You spent a lot of time and heart on a project? It’s okay to say it. REPEATEDLY.

Re-post your own work. You don’t have to flood the timeline on your social media account with the same post over and over but you would be amazed to learn how few eyes will actually encounter a single post. Have a small but interesting rotation of things you want eyes on to post about. And intersperse it with interesting and funny things. Things about you. If you’re finding it tough, people will understand, as long as it isn’t a pity party. Engage in conversations, while helping others.

Imagine you’re worth it

As a small thought experiment, imagine your book would be popular if people had heard of it. Now, count how many different ways you’ve got available to put your work in front of people. Is it more than one? Two? More than ten?

Don’t be like these guys:

If you can afford it, buy some promotional advertising. Don’t bet the house – look for what has worked for others in your peer group, and try some small experiments on emulating it. Start cheap, and measure the results. If something’s working, do that more. If it’s getting nowhere, stop and re-evaluate rather than just hope more money will fix it.

Make your website interesting. Keep plugging away at the content on it, keep looking for excuses to talk about your book in person or online. Don’t scream buy my book in everyone’s faces constantly but try to find a natural outlet for the work.

Who knows, maybe your readers are waiting for you?