I Have a Confession to Make

Book publicity makes me want to hurl.

There’s just one month until my book comes out, and this week, all of a sudden, it feels like the book publicity train has truly left the station. It’s all good stuff: podcast interview requests, invitations to do in-person events, and the like. Compared with How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, which was my first book, Hello, Cruel World! is garnering much more early interest.

I’m so happy. I’m thrilled! And yet the attention also gives me hives and makes me want to crawl under a rock and hide there until September.

It might be crazy for me to admit this, but I hate public speaking. Well, that’s not quite true. I enjoy public speaking in the moment, once I’m doing it. By the time I’ve gotten to the podium, or in front of the microphone, I’m usually fine. Nervous, yes, but I also kind of enjoy the adrenaline rush. And I do love connecting with my readers.