Doing The Impossible: Defining Yourself

In doing some reading up on promotion in self-publishing (Novel Publicity is great!), I realized that I need a smattering of works for sale to give my readers a sense of who I am as a writer.

I need to do two things:

1. Complete multiple books, including covers.
2. Put them up for sale before I create a facebook page that promotes me and sums me up.

But before I can do that I need to figure out who I am!

I guess we are always searching for who we are, and we change as we grow up, so there really isn't a cut and dry answer to satisfy that question. Even if I narrow it down and say, "Who am I as a writer? What genre do I write best?" I cannot answer.

The only unifying aspect of my writing is my 'style'. I am barely able to recognize my own style because it is so close to me it IS me. It's like how you never think you look anything like your siblings, but everyone says you do. You can't see your style because it is how you think in your own head. It is you, whom you are most comfortable with (I hope!).

This means I am promoting myself in all my glory. You can look at a selection menu of styles and pick out what you think you are, but even then, you could be totally wrong. Who am I?

Figuring out who you are takes a lifetime. It really is nearly impossible. You can decide how you want to behave and what to associate yourself with at this given juncture in time in your life, but overall, you are the composition of your lifetime and you choose what legacy you want to leave behind.

Furthermore, people may say you are someone completely different from how you view yourself. Their opinions only matter as much as you make them matter. Impress the people you need to impress. Don't let unflattering behavior in the background spoil it. Find a platform and stand on it.

Which is what I have to do.


           ~*~*~*~*~
UPDATE
I am thinking about Pinterest, to visually see for myself what I like. Maybe that would give my fans a colorful inside look into my person. It might garner me a few new followers. I could learn from the boards how to mix my interests and tastes into a promotable package deal. Me Business. You'd get to see my book loves, my fashion tastes, the beautiful things I wish I could surround myself with, my teaching interests, my hobbies.

Any thoughts?

Summer Creativity; PLUS a Sneak Peek!

Summer is a great time to be creative!

Whether it is building a track for your cars,

 Or doing some counted cross-stitch,

The entire piece, so far.

close up of my stitching

What it should look like when finished.

The lions on the bottom.

Or doodling a journal page,

The creativity bug has bitten!

Anything you can do to keep the juices flowing will help your writing. If you can carve out a few minutes, or hours, to do a craft, you can do the same with a blog post or a blank Word document.

Doing a craft with your kids is also a great way to keep in practice. Hit up a sale at your local craft store for anything and google crafts to make with them.

P.S. I've been working on the lion cross stitch for 10 years, doing a little in the summer or winter when I feel like it. I bought it on sale for about 5 bucks. I told my 9 year old I might still not be finished in another 10 years and asked him if he'd like it as a graduation present. :)

Have I also been writing? Oh yes. Would you like a sneak peek? Of course you would!

Vivian had taken down the thick curtains that had given the shop a warm, homey feel and moved the comfortable reading chairs for selling. I only just realized they were gone. Sadness swept over me. The store was really closing.

This place had been my home away from home the past 3 years. I could curl up in a chair by the curtained window and dive into any book under Vivian’s watchful, but distant eye. She was like a great-aunt to me, even giving me quotes as advice and picking out books for me when I had exhausted all the titles I knew. She was a librarian as well as a saleswoman, and more of a guardian to her treasures and wizened old woman than a mother hen. I was going to miss her.

I ran my fingertip across the old spines unfocusing my eyes from their faded titles. The inked letters were all worn away, anyway. Dust mites flew in a sunbeam across the shelf from the naked windows. Something flashed before my eyes, a face, a handsome young man, but he looked sad, troubled, and brooding. It was a face that stopped your heart and left you wanting to help him at the same time. Then he was gone. Such a clear image for a millisecond: one that I wanted to see again. Maybe if I retraced my steps. I ran my hand back over the spines again, slowly. I concentrated, my entire being desiring to find him.

Love, Discipline, Writing

The month of love has nearly left, but this year it gives us an extra day to appreciate what we have.

Do you love to write?

I do.

And I have a new favorite quote:

Remember, you are the master of inspiration, not its slave.

Whoa.

Finding the inspiration you need is up to you (or me)! We can CREATE it by creating a space that is conducive to writing.

This month I have written many things down as notes. I managed to capture some ideas on paper in tiny phrases, but I have not had the motivation to write them out in paragraphs and well-wrought sentences. I do not have a space conducive to writing.

But it's all up to me. I can't wait for the right moment. If my butt is in the chair, I should be writing. Nothing will happen if I am not writing. If that means I need to clear my desk of distractions, or set a timer and only have my word processing program open on my computer, then so be it!

Discipline!

Now, if only I could use the same principals to workout.. :)



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