I have been quite comfortable in my shell. I enjoy writing and thought it was a perfect career for an introvert, such as me. I get to leave my world and enter the world of my characters. Little did I know that as a writer, we are expected to promote ourselves, push our own books, and develop a following. Ugh!
Pushing myself to be an extrovert is like pushing me into a size 2 swimsuit. It just doesn’t work. Even if I could get the swimsuit on, it certainly would not bet pleasing to look at. It just doesn’t fit.
I tried reading my stories to “authors” groups, but my writing is a lot more tame than most. My stories don’t appeal to the harder edged writers here in Orlando. In all fairness, I don’t always like their stories either. So, back to my shell I go.
There are so many more gifted writers flooding Facebook and Twitter while they promote their own books. How would I compete? Do other FB and Twitter readers want to be flooded? Its just easier to sit inside my shell.
I can’t seem to bring myself to inquire about speaking at a library or conference. What if no one shows? What if they think I’m stupid, or that I don’t have quite the experience to put myself up as a writing authority. Back to my shell.
This is a challenge I must face if I want to have people read my books. It is the hardest part of writing, although query letters are almost equal in difficulty for me. I wish I could just write the story, hand it over to one more capable than I to promote it. Sit back and come out of my shell to write the next one. If only I could.