A Tent and a Table
I've got books on shelves in stores. It's an important development, and I appreciate all the receptive personnel I met along the way. But...
That word was hanging for a while in the back of my head. But so what? I mean, it's great to have books on shelves in stores, but success requires more than availability. I'd need to engage. Person-to-person contact. One-on-one dialog.
And wouldn't you know it? My first taste of this sort of tete-a-tete, during the book signing at Symposium Books on July 14th, was surprisingly sweet if too shortlived.
So now I'm going directly to the people! This coming Thursday, August 23rd, I'll have a table at the Main Street Stroll in East Greenwich, RI. Two days later, I'll be putting up a tent to cover my table for the Summit Music Festival at Lippitt Park in Providence.
I'm excited! Why? Well, let's be honest. Writing books or painting on canvas or engaging in any other art form has little - if anything - to do with other people. The artist does it to scratch an itch, so to speak. He has to or he'll go mad.
On the other hand, some of us enjoy being social, too. I can't speak for anyone else, but what pleases me about engaging potential readers is that I can catch a glimpse of who is out there and what makes them tick. The interaction also serves as a reminder that it's safe and healthy to be a complete weirdo - and strangely uncomfortable if you want to pretend to yourself and everyone around you that you're not.
Sure, I could sit in a bar, but the experience doesn't offer the same advantages. Someone who approaches me at my table loaded with books already has some kind of interest in who I am as an artist. Sitting at a stool behind a bar, I'm just another of fifty other patrons you'd rather not be talking to as you try and get the bartender's attention.
That word was hanging for a while in the back of my head. But so what? I mean, it's great to have books on shelves in stores, but success requires more than availability. I'd need to engage. Person-to-person contact. One-on-one dialog.
And wouldn't you know it? My first taste of this sort of tete-a-tete, during the book signing at Symposium Books on July 14th, was surprisingly sweet if too shortlived.
So now I'm going directly to the people! This coming Thursday, August 23rd, I'll have a table at the Main Street Stroll in East Greenwich, RI. Two days later, I'll be putting up a tent to cover my table for the Summit Music Festival at Lippitt Park in Providence.
I'm excited! Why? Well, let's be honest. Writing books or painting on canvas or engaging in any other art form has little - if anything - to do with other people. The artist does it to scratch an itch, so to speak. He has to or he'll go mad.
On the other hand, some of us enjoy being social, too. I can't speak for anyone else, but what pleases me about engaging potential readers is that I can catch a glimpse of who is out there and what makes them tick. The interaction also serves as a reminder that it's safe and healthy to be a complete weirdo - and strangely uncomfortable if you want to pretend to yourself and everyone around you that you're not.
Sure, I could sit in a bar, but the experience doesn't offer the same advantages. Someone who approaches me at my table loaded with books already has some kind of interest in who I am as an artist. Sitting at a stool behind a bar, I'm just another of fifty other patrons you'd rather not be talking to as you try and get the bartender's attention.
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