I then applied the technique to my memoir, Over the Hills and Far Away, and was astonished at how quickly I rewrote whole chapters at a time. I punched out a new rough draft in short order, did an initial edit, sent it out to readers for feedback, applied what I received, and felt I was close to ready for the big time.
I next had to learn the business of publishing. As difficult as it was for me to write this particular book, I knew early on I had a lot of work ahead of me if I wanted to see the book become a success. Any idiot can write a book, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to sell the book, and even more to make the book a success. With that in mind, I set about building the necessary “platform” – all the usual stuff including website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter account. And I kept busy keeping all these things up to date, posting as often as I could, letting people know my progress. I thought I was doing everything right.
I failed to consider how people might react to what I said on my personal page. In the past I’ve expressed an opinion on politics, especially, and directed my comments at anyone I thought deserved them. It never occurred to me that someone might be deeply offended. It’s now something I’m conscious of, and because commonly I post simply needing an immediate outlet for frustration, more often now I write the comment and then delete it, which seems to serve the purpose well enough. If I do happen to post, it will probably be something neutral and unlikely to offend anyone.
The point is that, as a fledgling writer, it’s hard enough for me to get help as it is, and the last thing I need is to be alienating any segment of a potential audience. I have to be vigilant of the fact that people can be extremely sensitive. Maybe after I’m established I’ll have a little wiggle room, but for now I’ll focus on the single most important challenge – getting the word out. For that I need to remember it’s crucial I make the right impression, to convey the right image.
“Like” my Facebook author page and I’ll send you Chapter 1 of Over the Hills and Far Away. Pop on over to #mce_temp_url#
