Own your voice: Be loud

​Hey crazies,
People who know me well are aware that organization is not exactly my best trait. While I’m generally organized enough to find things eventually, it’s my least favorite thing to do. I tend to thrive in busy-chaos mode and generally find myself running to my godsend of PA and CI Marketing Director Kimberly Lee when I need something in a hurry. For that reason, figuring out how to arrange this blog was a challenge. Then, like it always does at 3 am, it clicked. So here’s my plan: I will keep a blog document on my desktop all week and jot down topics as they come up. This way, many of the themes I cover here are relatively fresh and likely more relevant than a basic (yawn) how-to of self-publishing, publishing with an indie pub, etc. Likewise, I’ll check for comments weekly and if people have topics they want me to talk about, I can add those in too.
With that said, the first thing I have to say is that I am humbled by your comments on my first post. I wasn’t sure many would even read it, let alone have such kind things to say. It feels great to know I have helped some of you along the way before you hit the doors of CI. But that wasn’t all me. This is a team effort. You had the guts to jump through the rabbit hole into Crazy Town. Your comments only inspire me to do more and better to help many talented authors who have trusted me with their words. Thank you!
Anyway, back to business, because time’s a-ticking…
Today, I’m going to talk about marketing yourself and confidence in your work because I continue to see this over and over again with new authors. Many of you struggle with marketing yourselves. While you may have the tools to do it and even know how, you just feel strange about asking people to buy your book. I get that. For a year, I was in the same boat. At the time, Ebony McMillan, my first PA, used to pep talk me about confidence and that my words were even worth reading. It took two full years before I even had the nerve to create an author group. That ‘thing’ that is preventing you from saying “hey, world, check my book out” is entirely normal.
So *adjusts shrink hat* let’s try to think about this another way…
Let’s start with naming that ‘thing.’ That ‘thing’ is now a character no different than one in your books. We’ll call it THE BLOCK. THE BLOCK is not your friend. Why? Well, this dude is BLOCKING you from your dream. THE BLOCK is no different than THE CRITIC. These ‘things’ are telling you your words aren’t worth someone’s time and that your story isn’t of value. Do you really believe that? I doubt it. Because, as an author? Well, there’s something bigger and stronger inside of you too. That’s called THE VOICE. THE VOICE, your unique voice, is a huge part of why you write. No one else could write the stories inside of you. Fiction or not, we all write from our experiences in one way or another. Whether it’s a book about what we might hope another world would be like or actual real life events altered in a way to shape a new story, authors are story tellers and most of us are just trying to make sense of this crazy ride called life.
So that’s adorable, Erin. What good does naming these things do? In naming a ‘thing,’ you have the power to define it. You, like the author you are, can give your ‘thing’ power or you can take it away. You, and only you, are the one in charge of not only your stories and words but these ‘things’ that are preventing you from or begging you to get your words out into the world.
Two years ago my BLOCK was a huge concrete wall. Now, that ‘thing’ is a tiny chip no bigger than the head of a pin. Yes, there are very rare days when spamming the internet with “another new release” and hearing complaints of “flooding the market” as mentioned in my previous blog bother me. There are days when I’m quite sure my high school friends or even relatives really wish I’d get a pen name or unfriend them. Oh well. The funny thing about tiny chips is that you can flick them right off. When that chip rears its head, I call in THE VOICE and ask myself why I’m doing this in the first place:
Why did I write this story? What good will it do in the world? Who will benefit from it? Why is it important? Could I stop if I wanted to? #HellNo Asking myself these things always gives me the confidence to truck right along. I write because I don’t know how to stop. I have been writing since I was six years old. I write to understand myself and the world around me. I hope that I am able to touch someone, even with giving them a few hours of escape from what can often be a pretty ugly reality. It’s always important. To me and to my readers. Whether ten people read my book or a thousand, it’s important that a story that was inside me be told and that someone, somewhere, heard it. Why do you write?
Fantastic, Erin, you say, rolling your eyes. I’m still not doing it.
If you can’t bring yourself to it (I couldn’t) here are your options:
Hire a PA, and a good one. (If you need suggestions, I have lists). A PA can do for you what you might not be confident enough to do for yourself. If I had not hired Ebony, I would not have ever written (published anyway) past book three. Ebony forced me to get out there. With every tag, I winced. Every time she had an idea like “let’s make a group,” I put her off. But slowly, she pulled me out of my shell. Don’t believe me? People? How often do I go live? I’m telling you the truth. As bold and brave as I may come across, I struggle with these things too. Find other authors who will support you. Can’t do it for yourself? Make friends with other authors and switch it up. They promote you, you promote them. Simple. But tag each other. Eventually, you will become immune and when you realize that it’s not so bad, it gets easier faster than you would think. 3.FIND YOUR VOICE. Remember that voice? The one that is stronger than THE BLOCK and THE CRITIC? Find him or her. Every person is unique. There is something special and interesting about everyone. What makes you different than most people? Take that, use that, and capitalize on that. For me, I had the crazy angle. For one, and I don’t understand this, I have often been called intimidating or “scary.” That description makes me laugh. In my real life, I wear long hippie dresses and spend my days trying to make people smile like a cartoon character. But somehow, I’m often told I’m seen as unapproachable. At first, I fought against that. Then, I tried to become that. (Mistake). Finally, I made peace with it and decided to do something with it. I took the work I do, the rumors of “this chick must be crazy to release once a month” and my own personality quirks and ran with it. I stopped trying to be someone different than I am in my real life and just started being myself. It didn’t take long before I realized that like-minded authors and readers and I naturally gravitated toward each other. This is how I built what I now fondly call my tribe. I was myself and I stopped trying to hide it and it was pretty darn scary. But it was worth it too. It afforded me freedom from THE BLOCK and THE CRITIC and helped me to slowly emerge from my shell in a pretty intimidating indie world that I knew very little about. That said, tribes come and go. People change and/or move on. That’s okay. Our voices as authors evolve too. But you will find that the people you have in your corner now may still be there three or four years down the road. I have been fortunate in this way and believe that by being yourself you can be too. I missed out on a lot in indie world by trying to be “cool” or chase ranks, readers and reviews. I’ve quickly learned that the best way to begin building a readership is to be yourself. Rank is not the end all. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient, take the time to build relationships and give yourself a break. If one person loved your story, your words were not wasted.
Building a tribe works both ways. I know a lot about my most dedicated readers. I can tell you their birthdays faster than most family members. I know how many kids they have, their favorite colors, their hopes and dreams. I’ve found this part of the indie experience to be a lot of fun. Some of my closest friends now are readers I took the time to get to know. Practice in safe places. Sign up for takeovers and other events. If you are too anxious about live posting, confirm that you can schedule your posts and be there at your slot to interact with readers live. Remember, readers are there for YOU. They aren’t as scary as they may seem. True indie community readers WANT new authors to succeed. Pimp. Join a pimp group or street team for an author you admire. By practicing promoting someone you admire, you will quickly grow more confident. For me, being a beta reader and helping promote authors I admired taught me a lot. Most seasoned authors—the kind ones anyway—will be more than willing to take the time to get you up to speed and are extremely encouraging. Don’t hesitate to ask an indie author you admire for pointers or to be added to their groups. You’d be surprised how quickly they will remember being in your shoes and on the exact same road not so long ago. Remember: The only difference between an author with 100 books and an author with one is that one has been on the road longer. Most of us have the same goals, hopes, dreams and insecurities. When in doubt? Ask yourself: What would it be like if THE BLOCK and THE CRITIC took a hike? Write that down. Ask it again. Eventually, it might just be worth listening to your voice. I know I want to hear it. Readers do too. #BeLoud, #StayCrazy Until next time! Happy writing all! You can do this and the world wants your words. ;-)