Shameless Self-Promoting Whore

You are right to be annoyed with me. In fact, nobody is more annoyed with me for using my Twitter account to mercilessly flog my new book than me. But over the last month ("Black: His Story Month"), that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Not because I am some self-aggrandizing douchebag, but because I have worked too hard on this project to let it disappear without doing everything I can to help it succeed.

I’ve been on Twitter for three years. In those three years, I’ve written nearly eleven thousand tweets. Nearly all of them were jokes. That’s a lot of jokes. Until this month, I have rarely used my account for self-promotion for the obvious reason that it’s as irritating as an open fuck sore.

But a good portion of those three years was also spent writing my book. I did it alone, in my home, on airplanes, in coffee shops and hotel rooms. I threw away most of what I wrote. I failed and failed and failed. And eventually, I figured out what I wanted to say and how to say it. I got it to a place where I am proud of the work and want as many people to read it as possible.

The book industry is similar to the movie industry. If you don’t have a hit right out of the gates, everybody forgets about you. So it’s important to get off to a strong start and hope word of mouth takes it from there. That’s what I'm doing.

Yes, I’m being a shameless self-promoting whore. I know it’s annoying. Please bear with me. Or better yet, buy the book. Please RT.

 

 

Comments

[Carrie Crain]

Holy shit! You wrote a book? Fuck me.

[Lex]

Man, I gotta say: You are an excellent writer. Thoroughly enjoyed the book. And this post. And pretty much everything you do.

[Me]

Those were jokes?

[Renee']

I have never seen you whore out over anything as much as you've whored out over your book. But, hey, it's your baby. And your genuine enthusiasm is contagious (and a refreshingly out of "character"). People on twitter are always irritated if they're not getting their "fair share" of free entertainment. Moderation is key, with anything, I guess. But in the end, it's your account. You da boss, muthafucka.

[Carrie]

I first discovered you could write effectively in more than 140 characters when I heard you read "Dead Dad Kid" on This American Life. Now that I've read your book in its entirety, I know it wasn't a fluke. Well done, sir. You should be proud of yourself. I don't even know you and I'm proud of you. You've raised the bar for perceived goofy people everywhere.

[Ben]

You can promote whatever the hell you want, Mr. Black. Your form of promotion is still better than any other comedian's actual material. You're the greatest in my eyes, and I have beautiful eyes. And I can't wait until Amazon decides to ship my copy of your book.

[Gaby]

I got your book on my iPhone Kindle and I am almost halfway through. I am absolutely loving it! Great work, MIB!

[newfylady]

Michael, Interesting book, but your father was from Queens, not Brooklyn.

[Bret]

https://plus.google.com/103366224616473499481/posts/VVSkzMWSrWb

Great talk at RJ Julia tonight. Good luck with the book ... let's top 17 on NYTimes!

[Jaime]

"I did it alone, in my home, on airplanes, in coffee shops and hotel rooms. I threw away most of what I wrote. I failed and failed and failed. And eventually, I figured out what I wanted to say and how to say it. I got it to a place where I am proud of the work and want as many people to read it as possible."

I love this part. Happy for you.

[someone else]

Hey Mike,
Just ordered your book and I'm super excited for it. Your podcast is getting me through a hellish semester of grad school.

[M.S.]

I LOVED your book! It was really funny with such great heart. I really enjoyed reading about your parenting discoveries and how difficult it is when you have a baby who doesn't sleep. (My first baby was up for THREE years!)

I discovered your writing through the Huffington Post and then ordered your book. It did not disappoint. Congratulations and I hope your book is a huge success! I will be recommending it to friends. Best Wishes to you and your family.

PS On a personal note,Vertigo can often be a side effect of Ambien so you should rethink this! Those Z drugs can be a bitch to get off of, all kidding aside.

[lena]

I love you and I love the way you express yourself. I'm going to buy a copy of your book once I donate blood plasma since I have no flipping money. That said, I'd let them jam the needle in my arm a hundred times just to read your work. Seriously. You're one of my favorites.

[Tim]

I want to buy your book but I'm very, very poor. Would you give me moral permission to steal it?

[şarkı sözleri]

Thanks Brian. Let us know if you need any help in placing it on your site.

[Love, Me]

Honey, it's called Call To Action. You can't ask for people to buy, buy, buy without giving them an easy way to do so! You need a Call To Action link in your damn post!

[Lola]

At least you're honest. That right there is what finally convinced me to spend the $10 on the kindle version. Good work.

[Amy]

I loved the book! Really well done - I was expecting some lighthearted laughs but not the heartfelt emotional exposure. Really well done.

[Nadine Pisani]

I'm only half way through your book and it is one of the funniest reads I've had in a long time.

Thanks for writing a good book and making me laugh out loud.

[gafas de sol prada]

Very glad to see your blog, thank you share so many interesting things. Hope that in the future can see you day published more interesting!

[laurie]

Might be the funniest book I've ever read. My 3yo keeps checking out the kindle to see what I'm laughing about. Can't wait to read more of your work.

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Herzlichen Glückwunsch für die Buchung eines solchen nützlichen Blog. Ihr Blog ist nicht nur informativ, sondern auch extrem künstlerisch zu. Es sind in der Regel sehr wenige Menschen, die schreiben, nicht so leicht, dass Artikel kreativ kann. Machen Sie weiter so schreiben! Hey there! Ich bin bei der Arbeit surfen rund um Ihr Blog von meinem neuen iPhone! Wollte nur sagen, ich liebe das Lesen durch Ihr Blog und freuen uns auf Ihre Beiträge! Halten Sie sich die hervorragende Arbeit!

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[beisbol gorras]

Kan vara den roligaste bok jag någonsin läst. Min 3-årig håller kolla Kindle för att se vad jag skrattar om. Kan inte vänta med att läsa mer av ditt arbete.