There are two stereotypes of authors I see floating around on the internet.
1) We love to write, but hate marketing and are terrible at it.
2) We’re introverts and the idea of having to leave our little cozy hobbit writing hole is terrifying.
I can admit I relate to both of these, and the first more than the second. I’m that weird author who is both an introvert and an extrovert. When I’ve taken the Meyers-Briggs personality test, I’ve always been borderline introvert and extrovert but falling more on the extroverted side of the spectrum. The introverted writer side of me loves nothing more than a quiet day at home where I can cozy up at my desk or in a comfy chair to slip away into fantastical worlds I’ve created in my head and read books by some of my favorite authors. (I also have a new puppy at home, so the excuse to stay into cuddle with him is always welcome.) Then… the extrovert in me comes out. If I’m home on my own for too long without human interaction, I get antsy and lose my motivation. One of my favorite things in the world is when my social life and my write life collide.
Sometimes, social media can help fill that void. The Internet has a lot of pitfalls, but it’s also an awesome opportunity to connect with both other authors and readers. I’ve made some amazing friends over the years from all of my different Internet adventures. Some that I’ve known now since I graduated college and still text with on a near daily basis.
Talking about my day to day life is my favorite part of social media. It’s just people being people. But when I have to use it to market my books? ::shudder:: Some days I’m not too bad, and even get excited to share my upcoming releases and come up with fun videos to share about my characters and world. Or I’ve done a few live chats and interviews and readings lately, which have been such an awesome opportunity to connect with people I never would have before.
Other days…. it’s more of a chore than anything. I know there are a lot of authors who can relate.
But that’s when in person events come into play, and those, I love.
Over the past year I’ve been able to do a handful of local events, my most recent being the Oak Lawn Public Library Fan Fest at the start of May. I did this event last year too, and it was one of my first ever. Along with me last year were a couple of other local authors who had never done an event before either.
This year we all came back, and I have to say, it was so fun to see how much we’d grown since then. The way we can draw people to our tables, the number of books we have on display, the set ups, we’d all grown and learned over the past year.
I was a little nervous going into this one. It was the first I’d done since my dad passed, and only the second event I’d done so far through the year. It sort of snuck up on me and I wasn’t sure if I was ready. But once I got started, I remembered how much fun these things were. Being able to talk with readers, getting to know the other vendors around me, and this year it exploded with local authors! I was able to meet with a few I’d only seen online, and others I just met that day. Some readers who stopped by my table were even returning people who’d read my first book and were ready to start books 2 & 3, and one who’d met me last year but had no interest and now turned around and purchased all three!
I’ll be 100% transparent, sometimes having a table isn’t super profitable. Depending on what sort of crowd they draw, it may or may not be the audience you’re looking for. But even then, it’s worth it. Being able to connect with people face to face and not just comments and likes on posts is one of the things that makes my heart soar and gives me that motivation to keep going.
It was a day where I was able to remind myself that “oh yeah, I’m an author.” This isn’t just a thing I do as a hobby or alone at my desk. I can connect with other humans with writing and stories and a shared love of fantasy. That’s the beautiful thing about any art form, it brings people together. For me, that’s one of the best things about the creative life, connecting with other people.