Getting Serious
I decided shortly before Boskone that it was time to get serious.
A few weeks ago I hit the big “five-0,” and it seemed like the perfect time to stop giving a damn what people thought of me. It seemed like the perfect time to stop being so dreadfully hard on myself. WHY BE MY OWN WORST CRITIC? There are plenty of people in the world happy to do that for me.
So after very little writing activity during 2017, I made a deal with myself to get serious and really give it a go. Because things don’t fall into our laps (usually.) If you want something, you’ve got to work for it; and if you’re apprehensive, or scared of what people will think of you, or scared of not succeeding, or scared of succeeding (twisted, I know) then you’re not going to get anywhere. (I also bribed myself with wine and chocolate. Luckily, I like wine and chocolate.)
In the few weeks before the Big Birthday, I swallowed down the fear and apprehension I’d been struggling with and turbo-rewrote and edited* a draft short story that had been sitting for almost two years–I was able to rework it so that it more closely fit an anthology call I’d had my eye on. I was so motivated that I fought through illness and turned it in a few hours before the deadline.
While I’m still waiting to hear on whether the story was accepted, it was exhilarating to back at it–scary, but exhilarating.
I brought this renewed energy to Boskone. I promised myself I was going to be more extroverted, make an effort to stop and talk to people, and make new acquaintances. And I did! And it was amazing. 🙂
Luckily, Boskone placed me on several awesome panels. I met wonderful people in my fellow panelists. Some I’d been “Facebook friends” with and finally had a chance to meet in person. Others I knew by name only, and a few I hadn’t heard of before. They were all incredibly smart, talented, and kind. But before each panel I was a bundle of nerves. I feared I’d be the “Red Shirt” on every panel.
Like this.
Instead, I over-prepared and felt good about what I contributed to each.
Giving Back
One panel in particular was a standout. The Marketing Uphill panel** was perhaps the one I’d been most nervous about. I was on this panel with real writers! And the owner of a literary agency! And someone who’d been been doing marketing for movies beginning when I was a kid. What did I have to offer?
It turned out I had a lot of practical advice for new and aspiring writers–I still consider myself an aspiring writer in several regards. As someone with a limited budget, no agent, and no written novels (yet), I gave advice such as:
- Feel insecure about your social media presence? Not sure what to write and post? Post pictures of your cats. (Or substitute cute pet and/or small human.) [Shoutout to D. L. Carter for this tip, which we discussed at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room.]
- Not good at editing? Or social media? Or creating a website? Offer a trade with someone who is. Maybe someone in your writers’ group is great at social media. They can help you set up your Author Facebook page and teach you to Tweet; you can offer them an edit in return. Or make them a lasagna. Or pet sit.
- Above all… FIND OTHER WRITERS. Join a writers’ group in your area. Join writers’ organizations in your genre (I’m a member of Broad Universe, New England Horror Writers, New England Speculative Fiction Writers.) They will support you, give you tips, help you network, and hold your beer*** when you need to cry because the short story you wrote and think is brillant was just rejected for the 14th time.
After this panel, my fellow panelists gave me accolades, and a small group of audience members came up to ask questions, take pictures of my books, and grab my business cards and bookmarks. Since I do marketing for my day job as well–I’ve actually been doing marketing-related work for almost 20 years–I decided I should give back to the community by providing weekly marketing tips to new and aspiring writers. Look for the first in this series of tips beginning next week!
* Thanks to my friends and fellow authors Morven Westfield and Trisha Wooldridge for editing help on this piece!
** Thanks to fellow panelists Alexander Jablokov (moderator), Joshua Bilmes, and Craig Miller.
*** Usually, they give the beer back.
