Why Every Writer Needs To Be More Like Jennifer Weiner

Get Out There and Promote Your Work

You’re probably aware of best-selling novelist Jennifer Weiner. Whether you love her books or not (I do!) chances are you know who she is. Why? She’s not only a popular writer, but she’s also a relentless self-promoter who effectively spreads the word via social media about everything she writes.

And she has a sense of humor about it. When fellow writer Jonathan Franzen dissed her in an essay by referring to “Jennifer Weiner-ish self-promotion” Weiner didn’t respond with, “Sorry! My bad! What was I thinking?”

She just laughed and switched her Twitter tag to: “engaging in Jennifer Weiner-ish self-promotion.”

You go, girl! If you’ve written something you’re proud of, why not tell the world?

I’m happy to be a Jennifer Weiner-ish self-promoter. When I publish a new essay, I post the link on Facebook, Tweet about it and tell my mailing list. I want to make it super easy for family, friends, and fans (yes! I’ve got fans!) to read me.

Sure, I’d rather spend my time writing than promoting my writing. Still, when relentless self-promotion does pay off, it can be quite a thrill. Like the time I tweeted a link to the essay I’d just written about her to Carole King and she posted it on her Facebook page!

And when I had the bright idea of posting a humor piece about library work on an American Library Association Facebook page? Thousands of my fellow librarians liked and shared it. How cool is that?

Maybe Jennifer would rather be at home writing than out in the world promoting her new book. And yet? When I recently attended a taping of “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!” on which she was the featured guest, she certainly seemed to be having just as much fun as the audience, who adored and applauded her.

And how did she get to be the featured guest? That Jennifer Weiner-ish self-promotion probably had something to do with it.

A while back, my pal Deb wrote a great humor piece. She didn’t tell me about it. Instead, I stumbled over it months later. “I loved that piece!” I told her. “Why didn’t you post the link on Facebook when it was published?”

“I don’t like to toot my own horn,” she said.

If she expected a compliment on her modesty, she didn’t get it from me.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” I asked. “Your readers are counting on you to toot your own horn. We love reading your work. We want to know about it. And you’re letting us down.”

Is it arrogant or obnoxiously pushy for a writer to spread the word about their work? I don’t think so.

I know that people want to read me. When I publish a new story, they like it, share it and post comments. “It made me think,” they’ll say. “It made me laugh.” “It made my day.”

And that, of course, makes my day.

You don’t want to be perceived as smug, self-satisfied, or overly pleased with your work? Sorry, but you’re not kidding anyone.

Writers are all about ego. You assume that what you have to say is worth writing about, spend hours redrafting to get it just right, then publish it, fully expecting that people will read and enjoy it?

You’re not humble. You’re a writer. And writers need readers. So, if you’ve been hiding your own light under a bushel, get off your butt and follow Jennifer‘s lead.

I want people to read me. So if there’s anything I can do to get my work to readers, I’m on it. I may never be as popular as the writer of In Her Shoes and Mrs. Everything.

But it won’t be for lack of trying.

Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)

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