The hardest part about being an author? Walking the tightrope between “please buy my book” and “I swear I’m not begging.” It’s a delicate dance—trying to share something you're proud of without sounding desperate, hoping it lands with the right people without shouting into the void.

You spend years writing, rewriting, second-guessing, editing, and dreaming—and when it’s finally out in the world, you’re hit with the next challenge: how to talk about your book without sounding like you’re pleading.

How to promote without pushing. How to show up in your readers’ feeds without oversaturating them.
It’s vulnerable work. Not the glossy, cinematic kind—but the quiet hustle of showing up anyway.

Self-promo isn’t easy. We do it anyway.

You want the story to find people organically. You hope someone stumbles across it, feels seen by a line, and carries it with them long after the last page.

But at the same time, you want to shout into the void: I worked years on this—please don’t let it sink silently.

That’s the tension. That’s the line so many authors—especially indie and small press authors—walk every day.

We’re trying to share without oversharing. Market without pleading. Be visible without being… too much.

Sometimes it’s easy to scroll past. But maybe…pause.

Yes, self-promotion can feel exhausting—on both sides of the screen. It can be a turnoff to see post after post about someone’s book. But if you see an author, especially one from a small press or publishing independently, take a second.

Maybe pause.

We’re not backed by a big marketing machine. We’re not hitting bestseller lists on pre-orders alone. Most of us are doing this out of our own pocket, our own time, our own stubborn belief that the story matters.

You just never know what you might discover.

I think about Kill Creek by Scott Thomas. A horror novel I fell in love with—beautiful prose, masterfully written. It came through Inkshares, not a big publisher. Most of the big houses passed on it. And yet? It’s one of my favorite horror novels to this day.

Books like that are out there. Stories waiting to be found.

It’s a dance. A hustle. A quiet hope.

Every post we make is a tiny act of faith. Not in algorithms—but in readers. In you.

Because more than anything, we just want to be read.
If you’d like to support me as an author…

If you’re interested in thrillers—or just want to support a small press author doing the work—I’d be so grateful if you checked out my books.

Your support means more than you know. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here.