My press week for Delusions

Sell a book or die trying

The point of doing press is to sell books. I, however, was convinced that any time I opened my mouth (i.e. press) I would be guaranteed to lose a potential customer. That people would hear me talk and think, “you know I was intrigued by the book but then I heard her talk and yeah I don’t think I’m going to buy it now.” People say there’s no such thing as bad press, but I haven’t found that to be the case. To paraphrase a passage in Delusions, I’ve never been very good at selling my product, i.e. myself probably because I hate myself, and it’s difficult to sell something you hate.

I made my goal for the week to not necessarily do a good job but simply to not humiliate myself. That felt like that something I could possibly accomplish.

Saturday

My publishing date happened to land on my sister’s 30th birthday. Yeah, that’s right, my pub date for my book about turning 30 was the same week as her 30th birthday. You can imagine, she wasn’t entirely thrilled about this.

(me hijacking Romy’s birthday as a child).

The good news was that her party ended up being a great venue to sell books at. In between dinner and cake, I went around and forced every one of her friends to buy it. Yes, forced. Sheer force. Here is a video of me shaking down one of their tables with a finger gun:

Sunday

Freaked out all day. Asked every person in my life if I was going to be okay.

Monday

Friends started receiving the books we sent out which were packaged in cake boxes. The sticker on the box has a quote from the book, which partly inspired the cover “The advertising mantra used to be that sex sells, but for our generation, to sell it, it just has to be a vibe. What makes something a “vibe” tends to be erotic, edible, or both… If you’re going edible, the marketing will more or less resemble cum or infantilize you. Glazed-doughnut skin, pomegranate makeup, blueberry-milk nails, anything involving cake (if you can’t beat them, join them).”

Late Night with Seth Meyers was later that afternoon. Here is a very dramatic video of me freaking out backstage before I went on:

Tuesday

Woke up at 6am for the Today show. It was an appearance that caused weeks of dread and agony - and it lasted exactly three minutes.

Maura Higgins and Rob Rausch were there at the same time, promoting the final season of Traitors. I was too starstruck to approach them.

Drew Barrymore taped later that afternoon. All of my friends who I had told that I was doing her show had a similar reaction, which was something along the lines of, “That will be a sight to behold,” or “What are you going to do if she holds your hands?” I famously dislike even manicures for the sole reason of having to hold hands with a stranger.

I made sure to mentally prepare for her to hold my hands. So when I sat on the couch across from Drew, and she didn’t touch me, I was thrown off. I asked her why she wasn’t holding my hands. Was it me? Was it something I did? She seems to hold everyone else’s hands. She immediately changed course and grasped both of my hands in hers, which then put us in the excruciating situation of having to let go of the hands in a way that felt natural at some point. This was impossible. I spent most of the segment discussing this with her, while my book languished on the couch behind her.

That night Air Mail threw the chicest book party! National treasure, Gaby Scelzo, who baked the cake that we shot for the book cover made another one for the party. She also made a mini, GF one so I could have a slice. 🥹

Highlight: one of my literary idols Sloane Crosley attending.

my amazing editor Naomi Bernstein and I at the party :)

Wednesday

Had an appearance scheduled on Morning Joe that ended up being cancelled because of…the war… totally fair. DEFINITELY cover the war. It was a relief as I had been panicking about possibly appearing in a segment in between two segments on war. That would definitely become proof of the existence of bad press. I had planned to distinguish the hosts actual ages from their ‘metaphysical’ ages. Joe Scarborough’s metaphysical age is obviously 24.

That night, Naomi Fry, the incredible writer and critic, moderated a conversation at McNally Jackson Seaport. We discussed everything from body dysmorphia to philosophical questions like, is the internet real, and what if no one in the audience lines up after to have their books signed?

The other day, I was asked in an interview which bookstore I would live in if I had to live in one for the rest of my life. I thought this was an insane question and therefore answered something like, “Why do I have to live there?” But I should have said McNally Jackson seaport. It’s just as cozy as a real home.

I loved meeting and talking to everyone there so much. Even the person who told me, as I was signing her book, that I have really bad handwriting. And another one who told me I could benefit from Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I love you.

Thursday

Was so thrilled to get to talk to Zosia Mamet all things writing a book related (wanting to fake your own death in lieu of facing publication, writing and publishing from the perspective of an anxious person, etc.). It was such an honor to do it at the historic Strand. I met Nancy, the owner, before the conversation, and she told me that the bookstore had been in her family for one hundred years. Bless that family for keeping books relevant in this city. Eighteen miles of them to be exact.

Friday

Was so tired on the plane back to LA that I almost took a nap, and you know my feelings on that…

Upcoming events:

Will be having a moderated conversation and book signing at Godmothers in Summerland, as well as at Barnes and Noble at The Grove! Buy tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/godmothers-gather-cazzie-david-tickets-1982149857582

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cazzie-david-signs-delusions-at-bn-the-grove-tickets-1982410002683?aff=oddtdtcreator

Other interviews from this week:

https://www.vogue.com/article/cazzie-david-delusions-essays-interview

https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a70561020/cazzie-david-2026-books-recommendations/

https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/cazzie-david-interview-delusions-book-career-movies-tv-shows-larry-david