Book. Publicity.
They say that if you want your book to sell, you need to hire a publicist, above and beyond what a publishing house, even a major one, provides. They say this, but the amount of spam email I get, as a book reviewer, from people who are in a role of that nature (spam not because publicity but because of how wildly misdirected it tends to be) suggests there might be a catch.
I continue not to know whether selling books is the point of writing them. This is why my own publicity strategy, the above-and-beyond bit, appears to be word-of-mouth, and posting to people who already follow me, and hoping anyone who’d be interested in this sort of thing locates it. Which is how I had the good fortune to hear from Iona Italia, who is interested in this sort of thing, and who both interviewed me (see above) and kindly reviewed The Last Straight Woman, this even though the book title itself is an Iona Italia erasure. (Requisite “there are dozens of us!”)
Great interview. How wonderful to hear such an intelligent and thought-provoking conversation. Looking forward to the arrival of your book.
there is a great book title Screwed: How Women Are Set Up to Fail At Sex by Lili Boisvert. there is a whole chapter about how girls being "boy crazy" is treated unseriously and is discouraged. i'd highly recommend it
she also discusses how the idea that women aren’t visually attracted lets men off the hook from having to put effort into their appearance. it’s a really fascinating book and it delves into a lot of the same issues you have