Getting “out there” and talking about their book can be downright painful for a shy author or those who prefer to write, not talk.

Then there are those who aren’t exactly shy, but don’t like being the center of attention.

Still others are afraid they will be labeled as “shameless self-promoters.” Can you blame them? I’ve seen some who are beyond “shameless” – they’re downright undignified.

Common shy author obstacles and how to get over them

How do you overcome your personality-related reluctance to promote your book?

Here are the “I can’t do this” obstacles I see the most from shy authors along with ideas for getting around them.

Problem: Proactively promoting my book makes me feel self-conscious. I don’t like calling attention to myself.

Solution: Flip your perspective.

You’re not talking about or calling attention to yourself – you’re calling attention to your book.

You wrote that book to educate, entertain, or inform a certain audience. You won’t be able to do that if they don’t know about it. You’re doing them a favor by doing as much as you can to help them see how your book will help.

Shift the focus from yourself to the people who will benefit from reading your book. That will help you relax and maybe even enjoy that media interview.

Problem: I don’t like talking. I’d rather be writing.

Solution: Focus on the many promotional opportunities that don’t require voice-to-voice interviews or conversations:

• Do a “Twitter chat.“
• Go on a virtual book tour.
• Post information and updates on your Facebook page.
• Create and share social media images.
• Give review copies to readers who agree to write an honest review.
• Blog regularly – and be a guest blogger, too.
• Send out tip sheets.
• Ask to do media interviews by e-mail.

Problem: I see what others do and it makes me uncomfortable.

Solution: Head in the opposite direction with your tactics.

For example, did you receive a book announcement e-mail message that you thought was too self-serving, overly-aggressive, or even pointless? Write yours in a way that’s classy, helpful, and informative.

Don’t like how an author friend shares a purchase link to his book on the Facebook timeline of new friends as soon as they accept his request? Set a better example. You might create a fan page for your book and share helpful information there, or start a Facebook group for your genre or topic.

Problem: I don’t know where to start.

Solution: Make time to learn.

This problem isn’t unique to introverts, but they’re more likely to use it than extroverts.

I’m a big on starting with a plan, but before you can write one, you need to know more about your options.

Begin by writing down your goals for your book. Then educate yourself about book marketing, publicity, and promotion:

• Search online.
• Subscribe to newsletters.
• Read a book or two.
• Take a course that will walk you through the process.

This will help you decide which tactics will help you reach your goals. Next, select one tactic or tool that seems like the best fit for your skills and personality, and learn how to do it well. When you’ve mastered and implemented it, select another.

Be sure to download my free Book Marketing Plan Template, too. It walks you through the process with instructions and examples.

Problem: I don’t have time.

Solution: Apply the time you used to spend writing the book to book promotion.

You don’t have to be shy to have this problem. Still, when you’re a little more uncomfortable putting yourself “out there,” you might find it easier to use lack of time as an excuse to avoid taking action.

Try these strategies:

• Get up an hour early two days a week.
• Focus on the book after the kids have gone to bed.
• Work on book promotion during your lunch break.

Make promoting a priority

It’s hard to promote a book when the related activities don’t come easily or intuitively. You’ll make progress if you focus on tactics that not only help you reach your target reader, but that are a good fit for your personality, too.

Start with one tactic — just one. You’ll soon see that doing just one thing — and doing it well — is far better than doing nothing.

Give it a try. I’m cheering you on!

How do you feel about book promotion? Do you love it, hate it, feel ambivalent? Why?

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2012. It has been updated and expanded.)

This year, instead of promoting your own books as holiday gifts, give back to your author community by working to promote your friends’ books.

Your author friends will appreciate the support while you enjoy the good feeling that comes with helping them reach new readers.

Here are five ideas to get you started.

1. Write a blog post listing your favorite books for 2016.

Since most authors are also big readers, this shouldn’t be too hard.

Be honest with your list. Maybe it includes a  mix of new books and books written decades ago that you read for the first time this year. Perhaps all of the books on your list were released this year. What counts is that you enjoyed reading them.

You can approach this in any way you want — but do a friend a favor by including his or her book on your favorites list.

2. Write a newsletter article about books you’re giving as gifts this year.

Many authors support the profession by giving books as gifts — why not make your gift list public? Share it with your email subscribers, and be certain to explain why each book is on your gift list.

3. Do a Facebook Live interview with an author friend.

This works when your author friend is local and you can get together in person for the broadcast.

If your author friends aren’t local, use Facebook Live to offer several holiday gift book reviews and recommendations over the next few weeks — and make sure at least one of the recommended books was written by a friend.

4. Create a “Books I Love” Pinterest board.

Pin book covers with links to their Amazon sales pages. In the “description” section for each image, tell people why you love the book.

5. Host a Twitter chat with an author friend.

Make sure you promote the chat in advance so people know when it will happen. Share your Twitter handle and your guest’s so people can search and find the conversation. Give the event a hashtag and share that with you networks, too.

It truly is better to give than to receive. This year, make your author friends the beneficiaries of your generosity.

Please add to this list. What else can you do in the next few weeks to help boost your friends’ book sales during the holiday season? 

Tip of the Month

I always share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

If you have a smartphone, you probably use apps. One of my favorites is “Agent Obvious,” a collection of more than 500 tips and words of wisdom from literary agent Laurie Abkemeier.

Here’s just one example: “Don’t trash talk the competition in a proposal. Inevitably, people who worked on those books will read it.”

Download Agent Obvious for iPhones in the Apple app store.

As you might imagine, it’s pretty hard to share everything you need to know in a tweet, so I’ve created this resource list with links to more detailed information. I hope it’s helpful.

• When should you start promoting your book?
• Where should authors start?
• Don’t publishers usually take care of promotions? (Scroll down a bit to get your answer.)
• How important is an author’s “platform?”
• What about social media? (Also, use the search box on the right to find more on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest)
• What about press releases? (Also check out this post on tip sheets, a type of press release.)
• How can authors use sites like Amazon and Goodreads? (Learn more about finding online reviewers on this post, too.)
• What key mistakes do authors make?

Thanks so much for joining us on the #ConnectChat, and thanks to ProfNet for hosting it! (Read the chat summary online.)