Writing and Being

I’m sure at least once in the last decade you’ve caught your friend /partner /relative saying something embarrassing /revealing /obnoxious and then let them know, you just said that out loud. Now, in a world where real-time has taken on a whole new meaning – with voice and video recorders built-in to our cell phones and instantaneous uploads, no matter where you are on the planet your public AND private life can instantly become everyone else’s entertainment.

Now, let’s say for the sake of this piece that this technology was not created just for sophomoric end uses. I believe there’s a real benefit to the connectivity this affords each of us. It creates a sort of level playing field where virtually everyone with a cell phone or an internet connection – or the ability to pay for a couple of minutes of the same at an internet café — has access to the same airways. At least theoretically.

The problem, we have quickly learned, is when there is so much information being thrown up on the ceiling, it quickly gets lost and then buried.

A primary motive for self-publishing was the (perhaps naïve) belief that viral marketing actually works. That if I gathered 200 fans on my novel’s Facebook page, they would each tell at least two people about my work, and so on. Before long I’d be like Susan Boyle (not that Susan Boyle had become, well, Susan Boyle yet when I made the decision, but you know). And while I’m not ready to say it’s not that easy, it hasn’t worked that way yet for me.

Another problem is that I’m a guy who is by nature quite private. And, unless you’re Salinger (may ye rest even easier now), that doesn’t really work. Or rather, until you become as revered /hated /envied /feared /inspiring as Salinger, being a recluse is of no use to you in selling novels.

I’m not saying I have any answers here. I’m just stating what I believe is a common misconception among writers: that the writing is the hard part. Reality has taught me that the hard part is when you think its over, you’ve really only begun. The corollary to “dying is easy, comedy is hard” might be “writing is easy, marketing is hard.”

In this new wired 24/7 world, many people have been caught doing something embarrassing and become famous for it. Paris Hilton comes to mind. So what’s it take to become famous for something you’re proud of doing? If you have any ideas, drop me a line. thomas a t writingandbeing.com

Namaste,

TQ