My Child, Alone.

"Goodbye," I called after my daughter as I left the playground, "Be good and play nicely with the other kids! I'll come back to pick you up when you're ready for college!"
She stared after me, my lonely, scared child, but I didn't care. I had other things to do, more important things, like getting pregnant again as soon as possible, and having another baby.
I love having babies, and I really, really love giving birth. That's the greatest experience ever, though I have to admit that deserting them on the playground is a very close second. I'm sure my kids will be found by someone. Anyone. And those strangers will take them home and treat them well. That's what they're there for, after all, aren't they? My kids? Because I sure don't need them once they've left my womb. New adventures are waiting for me!

Does this sound familiar to you? Have YOU done this to your kids? Are you still doing it?
Do you think your kids are safe and will be loved by strangers if their mom or dad aren't around to proudly introduce them, share their abilities or quirks with those curious strangers?
Don't you think those strangers would like to know how your kids like their breakfast, which TV show they love, if they need a bedtime story, and how they spend their Christmas Eve? Won't those foster parents be so much happier if you were there to introduce them to your child? If they see you waving happily after them as they walk away with your baby?

You think this is a weird story, right? Well, yeah. It is. If you're thinking of human children.
But it's not if you think about the books you've written, and that you want the world to read. 

What I'm trying to say is, don't desert your book the moment it's published. Like with any infant, the first two months are crucial for it's survival. It's a well-known fact that books sell best in that time period after release, so why would you want to let it sit on that imaginary swing on the imaginary playground all on its own, when you as a parent should be protecting and nourishing it, and, like any good parent, tell the world how fabulous your book-kid is?

So here's my publishing tip of the day: Promote your book. Promote it not only before it's released, but also once it's on the market. 
I know, the urge to return to your writer's chamber is great. You've just finished a book, you've edited it one more time than you really care, and you want to move on to new, exciting things. 

Promote your released book! Help it grow into that wondrous, shining adult who goes on to–who knows!–win the Pulitzer or the Nobel Prize, or will be made into a Hollywood movie.
Don't desert it the moment it's born.

Promote your book.