A good friend jokingly asked me the other day, "So, did I hear that you wrote a book?"
He was gently making of fun of how my blog and Facebook are filled up with a steady stream of announcements about a certain book which won't be linked to in this post.
I take his point. My life (at least online and a good deal offline) has been consumed with getting the word out about that certain book which won't be linked to in this post.
I'm wary of self-promotion. Proverbs 27:2 says, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips." And it's not good enough to say, "I'm just passing on what someone
else said about me." There are many dangers inherent in tooting your own horn, not the least of which is overweening pride, a deadly sin that kills relationships with both God and people.
On the other hand, I'm very excited about the message about that certain book which won't be linked to in this post and want others to be blessed by it.
This article by Mary Keely on a better approach was very helpful to me in giving me a good perspective on the right motivation for "marketing." [
Owen Strachan had some good things to say about "re-tweeting" oneself, as well.]
But on the third hand, I'm very aware of my tendency to justify whatever it is that I want to be doing. So, I continue to watch my heart in this area and maintain a careful wariness of my motives and actions. For example, I try to focus on promoting the book and not its author, though the two are inextricably linked, of course. I also remind myself regularly to not believe my own press clippings and never take myself seriously. My wife helps me with this
by calling me "Dr. Fathead."
And on the fourth hand (What am I, an octopus?), I'm also
weary of self-promotion--both in others and myself. Nobody enjoys a proud person who is self-focused. I don't want to be Narcissus--what a useless bore! I want to be a humble person who serves the people around me. If I become convinced that my posts about that certain book which won't be linked to in this post have
stopped serving others, then I'll close up shop right then and there.
One of the reasons why I mention this today is that I'm headed into a busy week of promotion for that book that won't be linked to in this post, and I'll soon be even asking you readers
to help me get the word out about that certain book that won't be linked to in this post, and I want you to know why it's important to me. It's not because I'll get rich or famous. It's because I care about what God has said about the topic of the book and believe God has graciously given me something helpful to say about it to bless other people.
I don't pretend to have it all figured out, but I do know that I want the Lord Jesus Christ to get the real promotion and all the glory.
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