So as not to disappoint anyone, this isn’t a woke rant about the iniquity of some people having pianos while others do not. Piano Tuner’s Privilege is a concept that comes, like several other favourites of mine from Mumsnet. It’s a kind of spam/not spam thing. In the course of a discussion about people plugging their businesses on social media (and getting on everyone else’s tits, and not paying to advertise). Someone pointed out that if, say, a poster needed to have a piano tuned and someone reading just happened to be a piano tuner, it would be fine for that person to offer their services.
I’ve invoked Piano Tuner’s Privilege on a few occasions – the fairly standard type of thing when someone outside the world of erotica authors and fans is bewailing the lack of good books to read, when I always jump in with a quick plug for whichever of mine I make the most money off. I mean, whichever one of mine is most likely to appeal to whoever’s asking. But it can be used as a more general marketing tool, if you have the time and the inclination to dawdle about on Twitter half the day. Every time there’s a news story which has a reasonable, not-to-tenuous connection to something you have written, you could pop in a ‘by the way MY BOOK’ comment. For instance, there’s been quite a bit in the press recently about older women and their sex lives, which has given loads of opportunities to plug Silver Desire, the anthology about the erotic adventures of women over 50.
Of course, it does help if you are promoting something that can be linked to a variety of other things, stories, incidents or places. I’ve had books out about Morris dancing, tattoos, and of course Rule 34 which is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of surprising things you could link it to. Why not have a think, if you want to raise awareness of your work without getting called out for spamming and/or banned from online groups, if there are aspects of a book that might make it worth a mention when people are talking about something that connects with it in some way. You could even write a book about a piano, or a pianist, bearing in mind that everyone loves a bit of music… Just make sure you use this privilege, like any privilege, with just a little bit of moderation. Oh, and that’s another thing.