Quoting Myself

[Paul Whybrow]

2021 is the year in which I self-promote and schmooze on social media. I’ve been reading writing gurus’ advice online and in self-published books on how best to use Twitter, Facebook business pages, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Somewhere or other, I came across a suggestion that an author quote themselves, by producing posters with their own pithy words on—to upload to social media and even to sell as hard copies ordered online and at book signings and literary festivals.

I’ve been collecting quotes, aphorisms, poems, anecdotes and song lyrics for decades, which I use as a source for Thought For The Day. Deciding on the attribution of a quote can be fraught sometimes, as people state that someone famous said something when really they were just repeating a wise observation originally recorded by someone else, maybe a hundred years before.

There are plenty of companies offering literary posters, such as these:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/132996995221586946/

It shouldn’t be forgotten, that using quotes, poems and song lyrics could land a writer in hot water, as we discussed in this thread.

https://colony.litopia.com/threads/dont-quote-me.4786/

Thus, coming up with one’s own quotes is free of the risk of being sued—and may provide inspiration or comfort for someone. It’s literally getting the word out about your writing! So, one should include details of where the quote came from—your name and which of your books + where it can be bought!

I’ve been pondering what quotes from my writing that I could turn into posters. I mocked up one that might appeal.

Do you have any phrases that would look good on a poster?

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[KateESal]

I just had a look through the memoir I'm working on and the most pithy phrases tend to include slang words for testicles.

In other words, most of my quotes are bollocks.

Or, if you're from the US, balls.

 

[CageSage]

One picked out by a reader:

“No one is truly ordinary. But you could be. You know what it takes to put on the mask of ordinary, but you don’t seem to understand that under the mask is the real thing — got one of those in your kit bag? A real person who’s more than a mask for the job?”

 

[Eva Ulian]

What a brilliant idea! @Paul Whybrow

 

[AliG]

Terrific idea. Finding the words may be possible, but the art...
Would posters work with stick people?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Terrific idea. Finding the words may be possible, but the art...
Would posters work with stick people?

There are plenty of royalty-free images out there you could use. Go to Wikimedia Commons--most of the images there are licensed under Creative Commons and free to use for most purposes. Of course, most of them are taken by amateurs, and many are lousy, but there are some real gems there, too.