[itsacomment]

One thing the article misses is the reason why we loom down on self-promotion: it's not because it seems easy, but because it's value neutral. Promotion does not care if you actually did any work or are just shilling a bunch of words void of any idea. The visceral reaction to self promotion is in part due to hard won experience that those that talk loudest about their achievements are often lacking in actual value to offer.

That doesn't mean the rest of the article is wrong: promotion is a necessity for most artists ( and many others), but nonetheless there are quite a few people that need to be told to do less self promotion and more actual ( creative, for artists) work.

[herbertl]

This is a really interesting point, and I can see where you come from. Generally any time spent on coming up with promotional ideas is usually better spent on making a better product.

I wrote this one for people who doubted the value of their own work, especially when the marketplace sent them signals (or lack thereof) that it wasn't worth much; we conflate popularity and quality too much.

A lot of times I read something great, and I'm often glad, but I also think to myself, "I wish I read this earlier!" I'd love for more people who love creativity and making quality products (and hate self-promotion) to consider promoting their own work, because I know it's out there—I just want to see more of it!