Nothing makes me nervous more than a spotlight, no matter how small. I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like to be noticed because attention scares me. Yet, as an indie author, I have to put myself out there, create ads, talk to people, and present myself as human.
Well, I am human. A clumsy one. If there is a way to look like an idiot in front of strangers, I will find it. And some things just help me along. When I’m nervous, I can’t seem to get anything to work right.
I have ARC readers for something new I’m working on, written under a pen name(twice the fun, right?). So far, things are going well. People are at least reading those books-leaving ratings and reviews. In that sense, I no longer feel like a failure as an author.
Well, I converted the docx. Not a big deal, right? Hah. Yep. I tested it, and it worked for me, and then boom. Didn’t work for anyone else. Lovely, right? Of course, this is my life, and readers are important, so looking stupid right off the bat is not a great beginning.
It happens in public, too. Somewhere along the way, all my cool points pfft, gone in the blink of an eye. Dressing for a situation is the same as having a great book cover. Getting out of my comfort zone and wearing what makes me happy is hard. Most of the time, I dress to hide. In my genre, those book covers have to be bright and sexy-something I’ve never managed to master as a person.
Blurbs are first impressions, too. Get that intro down in something short, sweet, and to the point. Learning to smile, and say something simple when meeting someone is easy for a lot of people. Me? Hah. I tend to say too much in that intro. With a blurb, I can step into character and, in 150 words or less, come up with something summed up to: read this.
Content is the rest of the interaction, really. A conversation over drinks, dinner, or whatever one happens to be doing in a group setting. In the case of the story, the reader is dining with the characters and doesn’t want to cut out early, but will, if they lose interest.
Anyway, fingers crossed, because it’s out there now. Hopefully, they like it. Hopefully, my blunder isn’t the first strike against me.
Readers come for the pretty and stay for the story. The story has to be pretty, too. After all, the reader has a date with the characters and doesn’t want to be disappointed in the venue or the conversation. Get them to the end, walk them to the door, and kiss them goodnight.
Susanna Evans 