Writers–It Doesn’t Pay to be Shy
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Not all writers are introverts, of course. I’m one of the more introverted ones. My introversion can veer into shyness around readers…I’m not a shy person otherwise.
There are definitely things I’m more comfortable doing than others. I hate readings and signings. But I don’t mind signing stock in bookstores or (now), telling people that I’m a writer. And there are things I don’t enjoy doing that I now just suck up and do.
Even introverted writers should consider:
Wattpad. This online publishing platform is a good way to get our work in front of a younger/different audience. Yes, we’ll need to interact with readers there.
Newsletters. It took me years to get to the point where I’d “bother” a reader with a newsletter. I’ve only been sending them for a little over a year. Even though readers signed up completely voluntarily to be on my newsletter list. Each time I send them, my numbers on Amazon get better.
Events. I’m very, very picky about the events I’ll do and send more nos than yesses to invitations. But the ones I do usually have good turnouts and I do sell books and meet readers. After I’m done, I realize I’ve enjoyed them.
Signing stock. Easy. I go into bookstores, show my driver’s license or show the staff that the author photo looks like me, and sign the books. They put a sticker on the front that states autographed copy. I never see a reader this way.
Goodreads giveaways (no human interaction here! Perfect for the shy writer!)
Telling friends and acquaintances you’re a writer. This can be done fairly painlessly by putting a link to your books or your site as the signature on your emails.
Landing a guest spot for a blog tour or a place as a regular blogger on a group blog. If you want a guest blogging opportunity or to be a member of a group blog, you need to reach out to bloggers. This was something I didn’t understand when I started blogging six years ago. I thought the appropriate etiquette was to wait to be invited. It’s not. Although there are best practices when it comes to requesting guest posts. I’ll cover that in a later post.
Asking for help:
Reaching out to primary sources for research. It can be a lot speedier than searching up very specific bits of information online. Police officers have been happy to help me when I’ve called their departments. And I don’t think they thought I was a budding criminal (most of the time).
Asking for blurbs/endorsements. If you’re starting out, you probably need them. Authors will tell you if they don’t have the time and most bigger name authors expect to be asked.
Times you should put your foot down and not even consider being shy or at all reticent:
A bad contract is much, much worse than no contract at all. Don’t sign your rights away to your content. Here are some posts that may help you understand your contract: Susan Spann’s “How Bad Can One Page Be? The Hidden Dangers in Short-Form Contracts,” Victoria Strauss’s “Publishing Industry Terms and Contracts: Some Resources, and Some Advice,” David P. Vandagriff’s (Passive Guy’s) “How to Read a Book Contract – Agents and the Law.”
Not all agents are good agents. Not all publishers are good publishers. Just because these folks say something is so, doesn’t make it so. Places to research agents and publishers are the Preditors and Editors listing and Victoria Strauss’s Writer Beware.
Sometimes professional editors’ “corrections” need to be corrected. Stet is a useful word to know. For one trad-published series (I no longer work with this editor), an editor corrected an entire couple of pages to first person. The book was written in third.
These are just a few examples of times it pays to be outgoing as a writer. Can you think of anything I’ve overlooked?
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