Let's be real
From an older version of my brain, to yours.
Musings
I was so tempted to lie to you.
Lemme tell ya, when you’re a published author, scrolling through socials filled with book cover reveals and reposts of reviews and big money deal news and book tour travel pics and packed live book events—that urge to front can get absolutely overwhelming.
Especially because we’re now expected to handle the lion’s share of our own marketing. I’m happy for the authors who “have people for that,” but most of us maintain our own social media platforms, where we smile and enthuse and share and ‘heart,’ hoping enough someones will take a chance on our books.
Does that sound exhausting? That sounds exhausting, right?
I posted on Insta, I dunno, in February? that I was stepping back from social media because I felt totally overwhelmed.
I thought I’d feel more peppy by now, to be honest.
Full disclosure, since I’m striving for transparency: I do post on Bluesky semi-regularly, though rarely about my books. I mostly have fun hanging out there, as an introverted creative person who’s interested in pop culture and social issues. Though I still often take mini-breaks due to overwhelm.
I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to lie to anyone, really. That’s not how I live my life. And yet, the urge to front is so often »right there« when I consider keeping my socials updated and my “author brand” alive.
On a gloriously sunny day in February, I took a long walk to/in Stanley Park with my husband when we were in Vancouver. (13/10 would recommend.) He listened to me spill all my shaky fears about my career, about being “forgotten” because I wasn’t a social media dynamo with a million followers and because I was “late” with my second suspense/thriller book.
His generous listening and perceptive questions gave me the space to figure out that those fears don’t actually have to do with reality. The emotions I had around them (which recur, btw, sigh) are real, and valid. But the things I feared weren’t literally happening.
I repeat ad nauseam (sorry!) that publishing is not for the faint of heart. It will chew you up. It will swallow you whole. It will let that door hit you on the way out. It does not care how you feel in the dark watches of the night. It’s a business and it is not here to take care of people.
We are responsible for that. Authors, readers, editors, artists, publicists, interns, etc. Alone and in community, we need to take care of ourselves and of each other.
So what’s that got to do with lying?
Exactly. It, in fact, has nothing to do with lying. Taking care means being real, being honest with one another. Being authentic.
I’m not advocating we all exclusively post non-stop bad shit, either, okay? Lots of people do that already and it’s literally the reason some wag invented the term “doomscrolling.”
But, maybe we can pause to be real with ourselves when we need it. To let ourselves feel those negative emotions, and then let them go. We don’t need to dwell. We don’t need to worry how to get our shit together on someone else’s schedule. We can admit our fears and our down days, and “be” with them until we’re ready to move on.
That’s my goal, anyway. I’m still contemplating what “publishing success” means to me, but for sure, I know I want the space to meander and discover interesting things, to feed my brain as well as my spirit. There’s no such thing as a perfect path in publishing, but I’ve worked really hard to create and to nurture a path for myself. I strive to help others on their unique paths, too.
On those days when things look less than rosy, if I can say I’ve done my best, that I’ve been authentic, and acted with integrity, then I can say, It was a good day.
The Q&A Corner
No one sent in a question last month, and NGL, I was tempted to make up a question from “Anonymous” so I didn’t look like the kid nobody wants to play with..! But, as I said above, I’m not a liar. So let’s keep trying, shall we?
I'd love to get more interactive with you all, lovelies, so check out this handy dandy form and send me your questions! Treat it like an Ask Me Anything: publishing, writing, baking, cooking, movies, books, TV shows...it's all up for grabs. What strikes your curiosity?
Don’t be shy! Fill out the form.
In Other News
1) My editor has approved my next suspense novel! Which means I will spend the rest of 2024 drafting the story of two sisters embroiled in a shocking death, all while trapped in a high tech “smart” building.
2) Please send good thoughts for my romance book! I’m just finishing up a pitch for the editor at a new romance imprint of a Big 5 publisher. If the editor and their boss editor like my revision plan and sample chapters, they’ll likely make an offer. (I think. I hope!)
3) Please help my Crescent City short story, “Dearly Departed,” get published!
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Oh, there’s just one more thing...
Save the date for two online events coming up in May!
Reg links coming soon.
May 22: I’ll be in conversation with the incredibly talented Premee Mohamed, the current writer-in-residence for Edmonton Public Libraries (EPL), for Novel Approach: Genre Perspectives on Crafting Fiction. 6:30-8pm MDT.
May 29: I’m participating in the Writers’ Guild of Alberta Controversy @ Noon series panel, “Frame” or Reframe?, about handling rejections in one’s publishing career, and honestly contemplating when to throw in the proverbial towel. Noon-1pm MDT.
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