Know your writing style.

Remember that the all the current "tried and true!!1!1" methods of attracting readership will be largely worthless in ten years, if not less.

Do not, for the love of anything, complain about negative reviews on a public forum.

If an article claims to have sure-fire strategies for marketing or gaining sales, read the article to check for good advice. Then roll your eyes at the "sure-fire" bit and move on.

Don't look for your audience in other authors.

The promotional style/tactic that makes you feel icky, fake, or nervous is probably not going to translate into any lasting good for you. People can tell when you feel fake.

You are not obligated to post about the latest social, religious, or political hot topics on your forum... plus, making a post that kicks off with "I feel obligated to mention..." is going to make everyone, yourself included, uncomfortable.

It really is a good idea to sit on editorial criticism for several days (or weeks) before responding.

Just because the cool authors and the successful authors are doing it doesn't mean a) it'll work for you, b) you'll enjoy it, c) it's even effective for them.

Instead of spending yourself from the ground up trying to imitate "what works", find what you love to do, say, and perform. Work it into your presentation. Find the people who love it too.

Those are the kind of people who will love the book you wrote out of your heart.

Half of this was written in a spirit of helpfulness and earnest encouragement, and half out of a heart of salty cynicism, the latter of which is probably exacerbated by the politics currently saturating my feed, so I hope this was helpful and I'm going to bed soon.

*eye twitches* and please

don't complain about negative reviews on a public forum.