The author’s conundrums…
Most authors hesitate when they first think about publishing, whether it is a traditionally or self-published book. Second thoughts are inevitable. We ask ourselves: Will anyone like my book? Will those who don’t attack me? How much marketing should I do? Will I regret publishing this book?
I posed these questions in 2006 with my first book, Full Medical. With every book since then, they rear their heads like some Greek chorus announcing pending doom. The last general question is the most important because it summarizes the others. Even marketing our books exposes us to public opinion, which moves lightning fast these days and often reflects knee-jerk reactions to stimuli. We can rationalize everything by saying that it’s all about our books, not us. Well, yes, but they’re our books. A book just doesn’t materialize out of thin air. An author wrote that book, a real person, not an android or robot (I suppose that day will come). And that person, whether s/he likes it or not, is in the public spotlight. It might be a small one, but more people will know about that author than they would fifty years ago because of social media and online marketing. It’s a zany, new world of publishing now, and no author can escape the public and be a complete recluse.
Let’s put it another way: Any author who puts her or his books out there cannot hide. We’re all visible, some more, some less, just because we publish books. Maybe not enough authors realize this.
Or do we? Are we all closet narcissists now searching for the spotlight? I think we’re both, in a sense—torn between introverted and extroverted behavior. We write our stories alone, but we want validation of our storytelling, so we publish those stories. This is a tricky psychological and sociological balancing act. It’s one all creative people endure, from scientists and engineers to storytellers and song writers.
Fortunately the tightrope where we do this balancing act isn’t thin. Introverts and extroverts can balance on it, and everyone in between. We can pick how much that spotlight shines on us, avoiding what makes us uncomfortable. Reasonable readers respect our privacy, just as we respect theirs. We an chat with readers and among ourselves online and publicly as much as we want, and most everyone gets by.
But how should we respond to those who attack us? Depends on our personalities and how tough our skins are. We shouldn’t look for fights, but there’s always some troll who wants to be confrontational. But is this any different from real life? Maybe there are more trolls because we publish our books, but it’s best to ignore them. Let them stew in their own juices. Be assured that most of them couldn’t tell a good story even if their life depended on it. We can usually tell that from their criticism.
On the other hand, the way we handle praise is key too. First, we must be modest. It’s nice to receive accolades for a book and our writing in general, but we should always realize that there are many good authors and good books out there and count ourselves lucky that those readers sending accolades our way chose our books to read. Also as in real life, a little humility can go a long way.
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Comments are always welcome!
Mind Games. You know A. B. Carolan as the writer of The Secret Lab and The Secret of the Urns. Those novels are sci-fi mysteries for young adults (and adults who are young at heart). In Mind Games, A. B. tells a new story that’s set a bit farther into the future than his first two books. Della Dos Toros is a young girl with psi powers living in the Dark Domes of the planet Sanctuary. Her adopted father doesn’t let her use those powers, but she must do so to find his killer. This story about ESP and androids adds another action-packed novel to the ABC Sci-Fi Mystery series. Coming soon in both print and ebook versions. An excerpt will appear in tomorrow’s newsletter. (Note: the first two books are on sale, but only for my email newsletter subscribers.)
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
