Precarious Platforming

The whole school thing is going well. I straightened out transportation issues with classes and all that for those who are even remotely interested in my modest University life. I went to my first club this semester, and it was even a creative writing club! I had a lot of fun editing the crap out of this a screenplay one of the other members brought. Everyone was talking about a zombie movie he had made in high school and I sat and listened quite intently. It was all very fun...

Only I barely spoke.

You see, I'm not the least outgoing person in the world. I talk to people I hardly know every day, start up conversations out of nowhere, and I have a decent group of friends I keep in touch with on a regular basis. I have some eccentricities, but then again so does everyone. I don't try hiding them. My mental picture of myself is still hesitant around new groups of people, however. And even worse, this odd viewpoint of mine makes it harder to interact with people and therefore build some sort of platform for myself like what was mentioned in Nathan Bradford's wonderful blog post today about the subject.

My question is, then, how do shy or hesitant authors build that platform if they naturally aren't as social as required to generate a decent word of mouth campaign for their book? Take me for instance, I have a blog, a Facebook, a Deviantart account, and even more recently a Twitter. I have a modest supply of interested folks, however it doesn't seem nearly enough to turn out anything of a profit.

Then again, am I thinking in the wrong terms? I've always heard that good writing sells itself, yet how do people hear about it unless they see it somewhere? The entire process just seems elusive to me no matter how many books I've encountered in the library by chance or heard about from a trusted friend.

Also, there's the entire precarious idea of sustaining a good image. So many things offend certain people and there is such a fine line between seeming egocentric and spreading buzz about your own work. Then again, I could also be worrying my pretty little head thinking about so many things before my work is even published.

What does anyone else think, hmm? This could apply to any self purported product, whether that be marketing for a business or even your presence at a job interview. Some tips would always be appreciated.