Lately, I read or hear an increasing amount of information on the topic of being and introvert, and wonder if the people who call themselves introverts have mislabeled themselves. Introvert is not synonym of shy. According to the popular definition now, an introvert is a person who recharges or gets his/her energy from enjoying moments of solitude, working alone, as opposed to an extrovert who energizes by having people around, spending time with others and socializing in more live environments. An introvert would feel drained in this environment, and would need “quiet time” to recover. That does not make him/her a loner, socialization/interaction is enjoyed in moderation. This definition sounds good to me.

Another topic that goes hand in hand with this one is book marketing. Indie authors who consider themselves introverts might have a hard time grasping the now popular concept of indie book marketing, which just as the indie publishing movement, has gained momentum, hence all the bombarding with Must Dos, Nevers, and Don’ts related to self-publishing and book marketing. For an Introvert of Introverts, all this advice may be confusing, overwhelming, exhausting, and frightening. Why?

Most likely, when a movement starts and gains momentum, by default it gains followers, and originates experts, teachers, gurus … and so on, and where there are leaders, there must be followers, and followers sometimes forget that they are the leaders of their own movements, life, and or projects. Introverts who are also followers may feel/think that they have to follow or catch up with all the advice that there is about self-publishing/book marketing and end up feeling so overwhelmed that they might end up frozen or unable to decide, frustrated, and in despair because they cannot follow all the advice. As an example, I will use my dislike of making videos or vlogs, and yes, I consider myself an introvert in the sense of the above mentioned definition. What I’m trying to convey is that introversion is not a black and white topic, it has shade areas or degrees, and as so, introverts should assess what their likes and dislikes are, their level of comfort, and decide which activities fit better with their personalities, and focus on those. Just because everyone is Vlogging does not mean that you have to, and if you love blogging but dislike being in too many social networks at once because you become overwhelmed with too much interaction, then focus on one or two that you love most. Tailor your book marketing activity to your personality and level of comfort and enjoy yourself, otherwise, if you try to catch up with everyone else, introverts who enjoy a higher level of interaction, or the extroverts, you may end up frustrated and angry at yourself. People grow and evolve, and what I dislike at a particular moment, I may end up embracing in the future – it is evolution, and introverts evolve as well.

It is not a race, it is a journey, your journey, so choose wise, and enjoy every minute of it.