Just to reiterate

Like I said in my last post - it's hard out there for a pimp. I was reminded of this lesson today, along with my stupidity, in approaching an editor at a major newspaper in an attempt to woo her into writing about me and the book.

In an effort to sound self-deprecating and funny (when in actuality, I was trying to come up with an excuse for why I was contacting this editor directly, an approach which always strikes me as desperate and/or aggressive and always makes me feel a bit ashamed) I made a joke about having to do all this publicity work myself since my publicist was already off working on the next big book.

Of course, my intention was just to be poke fun at myself and the whole business of marketing and promotion. Which is why I then forwarded the email I sent to this editor to my publicist, who read my attempt at humor and saw nothing amusing about it. To put it mildly, she was pissed and I don't blame her.

This is the kind of idiotic oversight that will have me up all night. I'm surprised I haven't cried yet. That's usually my go-to reaction. But when my agent called to tell me how my email had made the rounds at the publisher, I managed to keep it together. And immediately emailed a sincere mea culpa to my publicist.

This almost-year since the hardcover publication has taught me so much. But obviously, I still have an awful lot to learn.