When Others Discover |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2011 01:50 PM PDT Before I get to today's post I would like to invite all of you to my very first interview. It was conducted by Nina Powers and you can find it on her site. Here is the link http://writingofanovel.blogspot.com/2011/07/unorthodox-interview-with-author-sb.html#comments. I really enjoyed the questions as she came up with some interesting ones. I think you will enjoy my answers. Take a moment, jump over to Nina's site and check it out. Once you're done make sure to come back and finish reading this post.
The other small piece of news is that the countdown is almost over. On Monday, at noon, I will share with you what the big announcement is. I believe you will be excited about this one. You probably already know this but things change as you make a shift in life. Sometimes those changes are subtle and sometimes they are big. I'm not sure where you would categorize these changes but here are a few. Pressure: We, as writers, are always under some sort of pressure. It is often self-inflicted but still there. Then we move to the pressure that comes from submitting our work to agents and publishers. I, like I've been told by many other authors, have discovered a new sort of pressure. That pressure has two faces. The first face is that of writing the second novel. Your first is published so now you have to deliver again but the bar is raised a little higher. The second face of this pressure monster is that of networking. We all need to build our platform but the time of doing that while we focus on writing the next novel only builds on the pressure that we can feel. Writing: This is actually a good change because once you get the recognition of having your work published the more confidence you take with you to your next project. It doesn't matter if you are published in a magazine, newspaper, or with a publisher; every time your work is put in print your confidence grows a little. This confidence is shown in our writing as we delve into different areas where we once thought we could not write. It is always a great thing to explore your craft and build your skills. The confidence we garner with published works builds our momentum to do just that. Awareness: This is a big one. I'm not talking about our awareness with anything. I'm talking about others awareness of us. This week alone many of my hometown friends and family found out that I have a novel coming out soon. I was hit with an overwhelming tidal wave of e-mails, Facebook messages and things like that. I have to be honest, my nerves went haywire. It was almost overpowering. I've asked some friends who have had books out for a very long time about this very thing. They told me that the nervous part really doesn't go away; you just get used to it. That made me feel a little better. I don't think many people discuss this portion of the business. We have to put ourselves out there; that is part of the business. While we get nervous when a group of strangers start asking questions it is our friends and family that really put us on edge. So what do we do? First, we keep writing because that is the core. Next, we remember that we don't need to do everything in one day. A schedule can help but the peace of mind this thought brings goes a long way. I recommend that we take time out to relax and breathe. The social networks can get crazy and when added with writing (and life) can make the week seem like a blur. Take a moment to exhale, chill and then start back. The last thing is to always remember that your manuscript it yours. That means that not everyone will enjoy or appreciate it; including family and friends. This can get tough because they are the ones that will make the comments and ask the question that others may not. The thing is they don't know the amount of work that goes into publishing a book. They only see the final result. As the news spreads and more people find out remember that the attention tsunami will pass by; things will settle down and we can go on with our writing in peace. It might get tough and our feelings might get hurt at times but at the end of the day we have our loved ones and our manuscripts to blank out the rest. 
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