Hello! I’m Kyle Robert Shultz, and today, I want to talk to you about every writer’s greatest fear. Woooo. *scary wiggly fingers*
Okay, maybe it’s not every writer’s greatest fear, but I think a lot of authors out there would say that it is. And even if it’s not number one for you, it’s probably still high on the list
So let’s talk about…talking about your writing.
*Imperial march* *distant screams*
By which I mean actually talking, in person, to physical, breathing, sentient people, face to face, about your embookenations. (That is totally a word, by the way; tell your friends.)
I have to be honest and admit that unlike many writers, I would describe myself as an extrovert rather than an introvert. That does NOT mean that I don’t get minor heart palpitations when a random acquaintance asks me “What do you do for a living?” Not to mention all the questions that come after that. Meep.
We writers usually have one of three reactions in these moments.
Reaction 1: I will tell this person that I am literally ANYTHING besides a writer so that I won’t have to get into it with them at all. Because if I say “I’m a writer,” they’re going to be interested, and I’ll be stuck having to explain myself.
Reaction 2: Excuse me while I hide in a corner and think out the same detailed, perfectly-crafted response to your question that I’d give if you asked it on Twitter or Facebook. I may or may not come back.
Reaction 3: To quote a tweet from my friend “throw hamsters and flee.”
What is it that freaks us out so much about verbally discussing our writing careers? To a certain degree, I think the answer to this question varies from person to person. However, I believe that all of us, at some level, have two equally terrifying possibilities in our heads when we are confronted with a question about our chosen career. First, we’re afraid the person won’t take us seriously as soon as they hear the word “writer.” We feel the need to start justifying our career choice the second we open our mouths, for fear that otherwise, the person will think we are impostors in author’s clothing. Second, we’re afraid the person will take us seriously, read our books, hate them, and expose us as—you guessed it—impostors in author’s clothing.
Hello, impostor syndrome, my old friend. That’s the real culprit behind our tongue-tied stammering when the fateful “what do you do for a living” question crops up. And it’s not as if authors are the only people who experience this. Every creator, no matter their medium, has that same surge of fear in these moments.
So, how do we deal with this? And more importantly, why should we deal with it? Can’t we simply confine our discussion of our work to the internet and not bother with face-to-face conversations like these?
Sorry, but no. As serious writerly businesspersons, we need to be able to have these conversations so that we can further our brand. One thing that should be a part of every author’s platform to some degree is attending writers’ conferences. The trouble with conferences is that there are usually other people besides you attending them, and these people are even more interested in talking about your work than the average person you meet on the street. If you know how to talk about your work, you can make many important and helpful connections in these settings.
Admittedly, it can be a lot easier to talk about your writing at a conference, where you’re with fellow writers who understand where you’re coming from, than to discuss it with your dental hygienist or a fellow passenger on an airplane, because those people are more likely to be dubious and judgmental. (Yes, I’m talking to you, woman I met on an airplane.) *ahem* I’ve had awkward conversations with people who couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that (a) I picked writing as my career, and (b) I deliberately steered away from traditional publishing.
However, even casual conversations along these lines can be helpful to a budding author. Because for every person who gives a “meh” reaction, there will be somebody else who loves reading, loves the genre you’re writing, and loves your books once they look them up and get invested in them. If that doesn’t happen, shrug it off and move on to the next person.
So now that we’ve established why these conversations are important, let’s talk about four practical strategies for engaging in them without panicking or losing our minds.
Strategy #1: Commit to your career.
This is something that each of us has to do privately and personally, without the need for validation from other people. You must have the confidence to say “I am an author”—not a hobbyist, not an amateur. Even the word “writer” isn’t always strong enough. You are an AUTHOR. You need to emphatically say this even in the moments when you’re not feeling it. (And by the way, those moments still come regardless of how many books you’ve published or how many good reviews you’ve gotten, so don’t wait for them to go away before you start calling yourself an author.) You’re an author as soon as you sit down in your chair and start churning out those words, even if they’re not published yet. Claim your rightful authorship even if you find yourself blushing at your own audacity as you do it.
Strategy #2: Have a Thanos pitch.
What is a Thanos pitch? It’s like an elevator pitch, only with much higher stakes. An elevator pitch is a short synopsis that you develop with the following guideline: “Here’s what I’d tell somebody if I got into an elevator with them and only had a short amount of time to get them interested in my book before the elevator reached its destination and we parted ways.”
A Thanos pitch is what you use on somebody when spaceships are descending from the sky and a big purple guy shows up with a fully-assembled Infinity Gauntlet and the elevator is taking you to an underground bunker before the whole universe descends into chaos and you’re telling the other person, “Yes, but shelving the apocalypse for the moment, here’s why you should read my book.”
My point is, your pitch needs to be both short and gripping. You create a pitch like that by identifying the most intriguing, crowd-pleasing elements of your book and then fitting them into as few sentences as possible. Preferably one sentence if you can manage it, but you can get away with two or three if they’re not very long ones.
Strategy #3: Consider the other person’s perspective.
You might need to tailor your pitch a little depending on the person you’re talking to. If you know you’re not dealing with somebody who’s versed in the genre you’re working in, then don’t overwhelm them with a lot of information that they won’t find relevant. Somebody who has no familiarity with sci-fi, for example, may be put off if you spout jargon that means nothing to the uninitiated listener, or if you compare your book to movies they haven’t seen. Keep that in mind and try to meet your listener where he is. Don’t just use the same stock response for everybody; be ready to roll with the punches a little.
Strategy #4: Be prepared to follow up.
If the person isn’t interested, they’ll let you know right away, and that will be the end of it. Don’t let it throw you. You haven’t failed as an author or a marketer, you’ve just met somebody who’s not going to be your newest fan. That’s not something you should get upset about.
However, if the person does express interest, then you can’t freeze up–you have to keep the ball rolling. Consider carrying business cards with you to hand out in moments like this. It’s a good way to ensure that people don’t forget you, and it will make them more likely to visit your website or look you up on social media. At the very least, make sure that you’re ready to give out your web address, Twitter handle, etc., at a moment’s notice. Telling a potential customer to look you up on Amazon isn’t necessarily the best strategy. They might not find you (because they forgot your exact name, didn’t spell it properly, or confused you with another author), and they might not bother to look you up in the first place. It’s better to direct people to a fully-functional author platform than to simply point them to your books.
In closing, I want to remind you that fear of talking about your books is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s also something that’s important to overcome. Once you develop the confidence to talk to people about your books face-to-face, you can apply that confidence to other parts of your writing career, building upon it to take your platform to new heights. Who knows? Maybe ssomedayyou’ll be speaking at conferences, or teaching classes. Or maybe you’ll feel inspired to do YouTube videos or a podcast related to your writing. No matter what direction you take with this, it’s a great skill to develop. Plus, any chance to make a new fan is something you shouldn’t pass up. The more people who enjoy reading your books and recommend them to other people, the better, so don’t miss out on opportunities to connect with readers in real life.
You may never actually enjoy talking about your writing. But if you handle it properly, it can bear positive results. And then you can get back to actually writing, which I think we’ll all agree is a lot more fun.
