My sixth grade teacher once asked the class what grade we thought he should give each of us for a particular assignment. I was a straight-A pupil at the time, but trying to be humble, I responded that my assignment deserved a C. When the teacher gave me my first B, my dad rushed into school to find out what went wrong. The teacher told him, “Look what she wrote. She thought she deserved a C. I gave her better than that.”

My dad then sat me down for my first lesson in self-promotion: When a teacher asks you what grade you deserve, you tell them you deserve an A. Always say that. No matter what. If the teacher asks you for reasons why you deserve an A, don’t be humble. Explain how great your work is and say you deserve an A.

So I did that for the rest of my schooling and it worked.

Many years later, I interviewed for a promotion at my government job. I had always received praise for my work, and I thought my work would speak for me.

It didn’t. I did not get the promotion, and I was devastated.

The next time that promotional examination occurred, my supervisor gave me another lesson in self-advocacy: When you go into that interview, you’ve got to tell them all the great things you’ve done for the office. Do NOT be humble.

So I did. It was extremely difficult. Judging from the interviewers’ expressions, I may have been a little too over-the-top in my enthusiasm for the greatness of my contributions to the office, but it worked. I got the promotion.

Now I am an Indy author with the daunting task of trying to self-promote my own fiction. For successful Indy authors that process comes naturally, but not for me. I would love to have my work speak for itself, but that will never happen unless people actually read it, and people will never read it unless I self-promote it. Blargh!!!!

So, here is my shameless plug…err…clever and witty attempt at self-promotion: Emerald Cove is currently running a sale on the Stolen! anthology. Between now and September 17, 2020, you can get the book for $ 0.99. Yes, for less than a dollar, you too can read Lord Larrin’s Trophy, the adventures of a hapless security chief trying to find a stolen fish to avert an international crisis. It’s funny. It’s fishy. It’s a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the bad news of the real world.

But wait! There’s more! The anthology also includes some great fiction by the other Emerald Cove authors. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Scoundrels-Heists-Cons-Pilfered-ebook (Note: This is my first attempt at adding a link, so if it doesn’t work, please let me know. Thanks!)

(*Drawing in a deep breath*) Ok. Shameless plug over for today. Next week, we return to our regularly scheduled blogpost.

By the way, if you do read the story, please send me an email and let me know what you think: susanruff@emeraldcovepress.com I would love to hear from you!

-Susan 9/11/20