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Natural born introverts do not make great salespersons, much less dynamic front persons.  That is what I keep telling myself—what the scared part of me would really like to believe.  Best to focus on writing stories, shy-retiring Jack argues; that is what’s really important to you.  Not financial remuneration.  Funny, don’t you think—how self-delusion is a bit like schizophrenia, with the different aspects of one’s personality carrying on conversations, setting forth arguments and counter-arguments, vying for center stage?  Yeah, well you go right on hiding your light ‘neath that bushel, Mister Milquetoast, Jack’s evil twin counters, and maybe one of these days’ you might crack a hundred readers on Amazon!

The guy’s right, of course!  Indie writers succumb to marketplace avoidance at their own peril—unless, of course, their marketing paradigm is the Emily Dickinson theory of literary promotion (i.e., “just wait till I’m dead, and then you’ll see some figures”).  I, however, am not that naïve (or is it patient?).

Which explains why I’m here, novice blogging, hunt-n-pecking away, hoping (among other things) that I’ll form connections with writers and readers, some of whom might be induced to share indie marketing strategies, swap stories for review purposes, and in a perfect world, even purchase one or two of my stories along the way (a favor I’d gladly return).  It’s a modest hope, I know.  But then, I’m a modest person, a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.  No ‘super-stars’ here.  Not for me—at this stage—to beat any bushes in person, to sass into the local Barnes & Noble with a saucy “Hi, I’m Jack, and I wrote a bunch of stories.  When can I do a reading?”  Lord knows, I admire—and yes, envy—those who can.  But for now, when it comes to self-promotion, this blog (and various other social network forums) is the best I can commit to—stuff that can be handled in text.

So, I guess maybe that makes me a ‘half-ass’ salesperson?  And yes, that’s embarrassing come to think of it—like I’m seriously lacking in ambition.  Then again, one must start somewhere—despite the various impediments of personality.  For now, my ‘somewhere,’ my platform for growth, is the web—Twittering, GoodReading, Facbooking.  Even this lonely blog.  Perhaps you’ll join me here?  Perhaps we’ll even encounter together a strategy for converting milquetoast into pepper sauce, shy and retiring into super-sales-dom?

Stranger things have happened.

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