Gail Simone who's an established writer for DC comics -- currently Batgirl -- was in the store yesterday. I think she and her family come in once or twice a year. They live over on the coast.
I was talking to another customer about my books, and didn't realize she and her husband were in the store, so they acted surprised that I was actually writing. (I'm sure I probably mentioned it before -- but maybe not. Big difference between writing currently and having "once wrote".)
I mentioned my blog which gets about 250 hits a day -- but which I'm pretty sure about 200 of those are accidental. She casually mentioned her 70,000 followers. (She was kind enough not to mention it in contrast -- it came up later in the conversation.)
Anyway, it's always interesting to talk to a working writer -- to get a sense of it, how they go about it, how they feel the market works and so on.
She did a successful Kickstarter recently.
There is just this "connectivity" thing that I think successful artists have -- a way of communicating with their fans, a way of networking -- that I just don't have, and probably never will.
It reminds me of the conferences and conventions and internet marketing (before that mail-order). I've tried all these things more than once -- early in my career especially. And I found I just didn't have the knack -- whatever it is. No way to introduce myself without being awkward
I read once that getting on the media to promote your work is the best thing ever -- except if you make a bad impression. That is actually worse than not being out there at all.
I'm not saying I would make a necessarily 'bad' impression, only that it doesn't come easy for me. I make wrong choices -- just slightly. Just a little off. And without that ability to get it right, I've found I'm better off just staying myself. Even if it means being the lone wolf.
I was talking to another customer about my books, and didn't realize she and her husband were in the store, so they acted surprised that I was actually writing. (I'm sure I probably mentioned it before -- but maybe not. Big difference between writing currently and having "once wrote".)
I mentioned my blog which gets about 250 hits a day -- but which I'm pretty sure about 200 of those are accidental. She casually mentioned her 70,000 followers. (She was kind enough not to mention it in contrast -- it came up later in the conversation.)
Anyway, it's always interesting to talk to a working writer -- to get a sense of it, how they go about it, how they feel the market works and so on.
She did a successful Kickstarter recently.
There is just this "connectivity" thing that I think successful artists have -- a way of communicating with their fans, a way of networking -- that I just don't have, and probably never will.
It reminds me of the conferences and conventions and internet marketing (before that mail-order). I've tried all these things more than once -- early in my career especially. And I found I just didn't have the knack -- whatever it is. No way to introduce myself without being awkward
I read once that getting on the media to promote your work is the best thing ever -- except if you make a bad impression. That is actually worse than not being out there at all.
I'm not saying I would make a necessarily 'bad' impression, only that it doesn't come easy for me. I make wrong choices -- just slightly. Just a little off. And without that ability to get it right, I've found I'm better off just staying myself. Even if it means being the lone wolf.