Years ago, as I put myself through university, I worked in a number of bookstores. While I enjoyed the conversations I had with many of the writers who visited the bookstores there were a couple of authors who came in regularly to hound the owner (and me!) about how their books were displayed and attempted to push sales. I remember cringing when I saw these authors coming.

Now, of course, the problem of the pushy author has moved away from the bookstore and over to social media. Even there, no one likes a pushy writer. But here’s the thing: In an era when the responsibility of promotion is increasingly falling on the author, how do we go about promoting our work without being one of those pushy writers? Or, more to the point for most of us, how do we get past our own discomfort at promoting our own work?

The reality is that getting your book noticed in the ocean of tweets and posts is next to impossible. And, of course, things keep changing. Book trailers and blog tours, for example, just don't have as much of an impact any more. So, what's an author to do?

Penguin Random House has this advice for authors:

“Today’s media marketplace is more crowded than ever. While this creates challenges for promoting book titles, it also creates many opportunities. Authors very often have great networks of friends, family, and acquaintances that are potentially more influential than they might appear at first glance … Consider the ways your contacts might be able to help.”

I'm a farmer's daughter and so I know these two things: community is everything, and you should never go anywhere without a gift. But as that farmer's daughter, I just don't like the idea of asking family or friends for help in promoting my books. And, well, like most writers, I'm an introvert, so stepping out into the lime light is often difficult.

But the link above also makes a valid point: it’s your own immediate community that is likely to get the word out about our books, so, if we're serious about making a go of our small business – and writing is a small business venture -- then we do need to tap into that resource.

My approach to this uncomfortable reality is to build a community of writers, with a focus on celebrating the work of others. That feels good and right. When the time comes to promote my own book, I feel a little less uncomfortable asking them to help me celebrate my publication. As the author of this link on Writers’ Digest points out, just one (brief!) email to your contacts can give your book a boost.

In short, my advice is to build community and make light use of it.

Then, promote your work only as far as you’re comfortable. Or, perhaps, just a bit more than you are comfortable.