My little overnight bag is packed because I’m flying to Chicago to speak at Moody Chapel tomorrow. I have two radio interviews while I’m there (WMBI and Chris Fabry Live). I fly home right after. It’s so exciting! I’m actually giddy about the people I’ll spend time with and even the food I might eat (Just being honest about the food.) I’ll get to talk about Jesus and encourage people!
The best part is I just write and arrive places, and my publisher and publicity manager set everything up. They arrange flights and meetings and email you organized itineraries of your time. I knew that part of publishing a book involved promotion, but I didn’t realize how it would happen. I was so nervous that book promotion meant me constantly talking about myself, posting pictures of myself on Facebook, tweeting about what airport I happened to sit in, and Instagramming myself every hour. I couldn’t do it! It would hurt my soul!
I even told my new website designer from Moody that if my website was a big picture of my face and all about me that I would absolutely cringe. I know that an author website is part of it all, but still.
I didn’t want to be a marketing expert; I wanted to be a writer.
Know this: A great publisher lets you be a writer, not a publicist or marketing expert. A great publisher offers you a team of people who care about you and the book you’ve written so you don’t have to worry all day long about marketing. You can be yourself and celebrate without becoming consumed with fame, sales, or attention.
Praise God for publicists, marketing teams, and godly publishers who let writers write!
It’s a fun week. I think back to that first time on local NPR over 5 years ago when I wore my pearls even though nobody would ever see them through the radio. Do you remember? And now, it’s the radio again, and I’m going to do it all with flair.