Here it goes. Stepping off into the unknown. Beginning an adventure into the increasingly befuddled world of blogging. After months of research, hesitation, and the general feeling of being overwhelmed, here is my debut.
As most working-to-be or already-there authors know, a social media presence is required in the day of decreasing publishing house budgets and anybody being able to throw their novel online for .99 cents. Not only must authors take on the job of advertising self, but we must do this while differentiating ourselves in an increasingly crowded social media world.
The part that baffles me is that the social media interaction is supposed to happen before there’s an actual work published. Okay, perhaps more accurately, before a novel is published. I understand the theory behind it: create a following, build a reputation, spark interest, make people love you. And mostly, prove to the agents and publishers being queried that you can market yourself as you will need to if they sign you.
It seems to me that it is easier to become published writing short stories than novels. Short stories are much easier to read, to dissect and then accept or decline, than 100k+ word books that have a bigger monetary risk involved in publishing and marketing.
Unfortunately that brings up a little problem for me. I’m one of those writers who can’t seem to stop writing on a story, only recently having delved into the art of short stories. So most everything I have to show is loooonnnnnng.
Basically this means I am an author in limbo. All my novels, my author-proof, wait for an agent to deem it good enough to champion. I have no published novel to point to, nothing really concrete to use as proof behind the words “I Am Writer.”
(Actually, this is not quite true. I have recently had a short story I wrote accepted into an anthology that will be released in October!! Interestingly enough, it’s the only piece I’ve written that is not in the fantasy genre.)
Nevertheless, I continue churning out words and pages like my life depends on it. Writing is a compulsion for me, a not-quite-benevolent creative force seizing hold of me and demanding I follow, often stumbling and tripping along behind it trying to catch up.
So, in this blog, I have decided to showcase and discuss my development as a writer. I’ll share with you my thoughts on writing, authorship, and most importantly, ideas and frustrations about this crazy world we live in that are exposed when we put pen to paper. Writing is not so much the development of a good story as it is the revealing of an idea that we enjoy or struggle with.
I hope that you follow me along as I navigate my way through the world of writing and the world of living, and add your thoughts. I greatly look forward to reading them.
