When I was 15 or 16, my aunt had the brilliant idea that I should sell Tupperware like she did. She loved it. She was brilliant at it. Surely, I could do it, too.

She organized a party at my parents’ home. A lot of people came. I helped with the setup and everything.

Then I stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She tried to help, to get me to do the spiel. I felt like dying.

Naturally, my aunt ended up hosting that party and quietly dropped the idea of me selling Tupperware.

I absolutely hate marketing. It’s like—if people want something, they should go and get it, right?

The issue is: they need to know it’s out there to get.

I think I’ve found a sustainable way to engage and market my books—relational, chatting about them, engaging in discussions, posting random thoughts and observations on social media, writing blog posts, engaging in FB WLW groups, and pushing more during new release phases.

However, I need to pace those phases. This time around for Forged, I got a gnarly cold the day before release, and two weeks later I’m still not fully back to normal. That didn’t help. But I’ve also realized I can’t sustain daily posting, creating reels, and other graphics. I just can’t.

It makes me anxious and drags me down. I start to resent everything related to writing and publishing. Worst of all, it distracts me completely from writing, and my productivity tanks.

On the other hand, I’ve done more marketing for Forged than for any other release. And I will keep putting in effort—especially during release—but good God, I loathe it from the bottom of my soul.

Kudos to all of you who love marketing and excel at it on social media. I tip my imaginary hat.