Should you promote an unpubbed novel?

Now there’s a question . . .

I think the answer is “depends.”

Depends on how you do it and what your expectations are.

I stuck my toe in, today, with a little teaser on my bio page. Here it is:

[I] am now querying agents for my latest completed book, WHEN LIBBY MET THE FAIRIES AND HER WHOLE LIFE WENT FEY. It’s about a biologist who’s trying to start an organic vegetable farm, only one evening as she’s crossing one of her fields a two-foot tall man steps out of the shadows and greets her by name.

It’s hard enough for Libby to believe that little folk exist, let alone that they’ll help her farm succeed. Then word of her sightings leaks onto the Internet and pretty soon her property is swarming with strangers who want to see the fairies, too . . .

There’s also a romance. I love books with romances :-)

I wouldn’t want to put anything more out right now. For example, there are some plot twists I hope will be fun for readers. I wouldn’t want to give them away. And how much of a hint is too much? I confess, that’s a question that makes me nervous.

There’s also the matter of my dignity. I am terribly excited about this book. I think it’s good. Hell, some days I think it’s very good. But I thought my last novel was very good, too, until I tried to find an agent for it. Come to find out, it wasn’t nearly the novel I believed it was.

Nothing like real world feedback to open one’s eyes ;-)

So I don’t want to overhype WHEN LIBBY even within the confines of my modest little blog, because even here it’s a long way down from that high horse saddle . . .

4 thoughts on “Should you promote an unpubbed novel?

  1. Well, hell, K. From what I’ve seen of your writing on your blog, I’m SURE the novel is well written. And from your “teaser” I’m also sure I would enjoy picking up a copy and getting lost in Libby’s farm and the fairies. I hope some agent picks it up soon and pitches it to the right editor. When all that happens and it hits the stores, I’ll mail you acopy for your autograph!

    John

    P.S. My answer to your question is simply, “Why not?”

  2. Thank you, John! You’re very kind.

    If it gets published, I’ll mail you an autographed copy — all you have to do is reciprocate when your novel gets published too :-)

  3. You do it the right way, Bernita — writing about your novel in the context of the writing process . . .

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