Read it already! A writer’s confession.
I’m not so
great at reading my own writing aloud. Sure, I’ve done it. For small groups,
large groups, for college credit, and a while back, for fun.
For fun? Well, sort of. Partly for fun, partly out of curiosity and well, yeah, I also did it for promotion. Promotion! Marketing! These are topics writers are encouraged to think
about all the time.
You get the idea. We’re encouraged to try new marketing strategies--all the time. We should be innovative and exciting. Relevant. We must keep up with our blogs, twitter accounts, and Pinterest boards. On the side, we’re also writing books.
That’s a lot of pressure. No, not the writing. That’s not pressure. That’s fun. We’re writers, so creating stories and torturing characters, that’s what we do. It’s that marketing and promotion stuff that stresses us out. Not because we don’t want to do it, don’t understand it, or even because we’re not good at it. It’s because there’s always something newer, fresher, and more exciting we need to do. Right now that new fresh thing is Facebook Live.
Now here’s my
confession. I don’t care that I’m not good at reading my work aloud. I’m a writer. I write stories for other people to read. I
love crafting stories and I’m thrilled that I have readers who support my work.
Isn’t that what matters? The words on the page? The story? I think so. I
probably shouldn’t admit this, but I think its funny that I’m not a great
performing-author. Sure, on occasion, I have pulled myself together and done a
fine, if not good, job at reading. Like when I did my MFA graduate reading. But
for the most part, I’m happy to hand over my work for other people to read
(inside their head) and enjoy (without me there staring at them).
So, if you haven’t guessed already, I did a live reading of my new release, BAIT, from New Vintage Press, on Facebook. [NOTE: This sory in now in the horror anothology, Gone with the Dead from Riverdale Ave Books.] I was at the Romance Writers of America national convention, standing on my balcony in San Diego, wearing my favorite Hello Kitty t-shirt, and I did it. I hit go live. I said, hi, showed people around, then read.
Yeah, it was promotional, but more important to me, it was fun. Will I do it again? Sure. Will I worry about how well I perform? Nope. Not at all. The only thing I’ll be concerned about it whether or not people have a good time.
For fun? Well, sort of. Partly for fun, partly out of curiosity and well, yeah, I also did it for promotion. Promotion! Marketing! These are topics writers are encouraged to think
- Where are you going to do to promote your new release?
- How're you doing to promote your backlist?
- What about your work-in-progress makes it marketable?
- How are you reaching new readers?
You get the idea. We’re encouraged to try new marketing strategies--all the time. We should be innovative and exciting. Relevant. We must keep up with our blogs, twitter accounts, and Pinterest boards. On the side, we’re also writing books.
That’s a lot of pressure. No, not the writing. That’s not pressure. That’s fun. We’re writers, so creating stories and torturing characters, that’s what we do. It’s that marketing and promotion stuff that stresses us out. Not because we don’t want to do it, don’t understand it, or even because we’re not good at it. It’s because there’s always something newer, fresher, and more exciting we need to do. Right now that new fresh thing is Facebook Live.
So, if you haven’t guessed already, I did a live reading of my new release, BAIT, from New Vintage Press, on Facebook. [NOTE: This sory in now in the horror anothology, Gone with the Dead from Riverdale Ave Books.] I was at the Romance Writers of America national convention, standing on my balcony in San Diego, wearing my favorite Hello Kitty t-shirt, and I did it. I hit go live. I said, hi, showed people around, then read.
Yeah, it was promotional, but more important to me, it was fun. Will I do it again? Sure. Will I worry about how well I perform? Nope. Not at all. The only thing I’ll be concerned about it whether or not people have a good time.
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