I used to worry about promoting my work. I worried it would make me look desperate or pathetic to shuffle on the sidewalks of the internet whistling a happy little tune and expecting a few cents from anyone passing by.

It’s easy to feel that way too since there are always these weird rules of etiquette bandied about in the world of writing. We’re supposed to be reserved and ‘aw-shucks’ humble when we put our work out into the world. It’s exhausting and I often feel the entire purpose is to ensure writers feel devalued even in the face of success.

Don’t get me wrong. I am always humbled and fucking mystified when people like what I put out there, but these unwritten rules need to go.

Problem 1? Well, most of those rules were fucking established in 19-the-fuck-we-following-rules-from-a-time-when-water-fountains-were-segregated-teen.

Problem 2? It’s making us ashamed to celebrate our hard work and that’s some deep bullshit because I don’t know about y’all, but I broke my ass writing my last book and I’m breaking my ass writing the next one.

Someone likes your book! Someone fucking published it! Someone bought it!

Celebrate that. Promo like your life depends on it. Ask for the goddamn reviews. You built something with your skin and blood and bone. You tore your goddamn soul out and Jackson Pollocked that shit onto paper THEN you threw that out and Picassoed that shit.

I, you, WE deserve to call attention to our achievements. That put a hair up other peoples’ asses? Fuck ’em. Crack open the champagne.

That said: guess what? I have a book out. I don’t stop talking about it because, I WROTE A BOOK AND IT IS A THING PEOPLE CAN BUY. Wasn’t that the dream? Why not revel (to an extent, I mean, let’s not be too insufferable, we’re not better than anyone else) for a little while?

Anyway, my point is to work hard and celebrate when that work becomes something beautiful – especially when that work becomes something beautiful to share and be seen the same way (or differently)!

Keep writing.

Oh, and buy or review HELL CHOSE ME. I worked hard on that book and I’m never going to feel ashamed of telling people about it.