Most of the time, I like to think that I come across as a very confident person. I am comfortable meeting new people, being in large or small groups, and speaking in front of people. I have no problems talking about my opinions on the news of the day, or making small talk about the weather. I am even comfortable talking about myself, with one exception- I am very bad at promoting myself.

When it comes to my friends, both bloggers and the members of my writing critique group, I am a cheerleader. I am all about getting them to believe in what they are doing, helping them reach for that goal, encouraging them to submit that manuscript, etc. But when it comes to doing those things for myself, I fail.

This is one aspect of my personality that I know is an impediment to reaching my goals- both professionally and in my side projects. So, it has also been something I have been working on for the last 2.5 years.

I graduated with my MBA in May 2008. I did not start doing interviews until that fall, as part of an agreement with my boss (whose goodwill and recommendation carries a LOT of weight at my company). I got some courtesy interviews from internal departments- I met the minimum qualifications, and as an internal candidate, they interviewed me, despite having near perfect candidates as well, due to the job market. And from those interviews, I was lucky enough to get feedback, feedback that said I needed to be more confident in presenting myself and my work.

In fact, I interviewed with one department both early and late in the process. After the second interview, the feedback I got was that my interview skills had improved greatly. While I was not their first choice for the position, I was much closer to the top of the list than I had been the first time around, and they expected I would get a new position soon. And they were right.

It took me nearly two years of interviewing to become a confident candidate, to say to the interviewer that I was right for this job and here was why. In fact, I got my current job because I interviewed for different one in the department and the executive director called me to say “we went with someone with more of X kind of experience for this job, but I am going to have another opening in a month that I very much hope you will apply for.” I did, and I got it, along with a 33% raise.

Still, interviews are kind of a closed world, and I have struggled with bringing my interview confidence into my general dealings with other directors in my department or those who are not already familiar with my work. To help with that, I have decided to join a women’s leadership group at my company. I hope that it will help me not only network, but gain the confidence I need around the leaders of my organization to present myself as a candidate for further growth.

But self-promotion is not just about work. It continues in to my fiction writing life- I really have to gear myself up in order to submit a piece, and I rarely have more than one submission in at a time. That is not the way to become a successful fiction writer. I need to get my work out there in front of editors.

So, this last year, I made it a goal to get my work out there. While I still have not submitted to as many publications as I think I should, I did submit a portion of my longest work (a novella) to a major convention for work shopping. It is not an agent or an editor, but it is a first step, and one I am proud of myself for taking.

To go along with that, back in 2009, I published a book. It’s a coffee table style book that combines my brother’s photography with 100 word micro-fiction pieces written by myself, friends, and friends of friends. When talking about this book, I often refer to it as a vanity project, which in some sense it was, but that also diminishes it. I do not expect to make any money off this book, but I am incredibly proud of it. It even got a 5 star review from someone not either my brother or I know.

The book became a proof of concept for me (that I could get the contributors and that I could do the editing work) that has given me the confidence to contact another artist with the intention of publishing a second, similar book. The second book will hopefully be a money maker, but it will take both the artist and myself promoting it for that to happen.