What are you always writing?

“What are you always writing?”

I get asked this question a lot. About as much as people who ask me what my Alpha Smart is.

When I answer that I write books or romance novels, the next question is, “Are you published?” Usually I see it in their eyes that they expect a “no”. Maybe I don’t fit the image of a writer, at least not a published one. Or maybe they’ve met a lot of writers who are pre-published.

When I tell them yes, I get a number of different reactions. The one I just got was “Oh”, like she didn’t really believe me or take it seriously. This is usually when I whip out my business card and hand it to them. I suppose I should have but I didn’t this time. I think I’m going to have bookmarks made and pass them out instead of a business card with personal info. Of course that’s one more item to stuff into my purse and I have to get a container so they don’t get ruined. Bookmarks aren’t cheap, at least not ones that look professional.

The last two times I got this question my response was met with a lot more enthusiasm. One asked how many books I have published and the other asked me to teach her how to get published.

Other times the response has been, “I have a great idea for you. If you write it we’ll split the royalties 50-50.” Or “I’m going to write a book.”

I have to get over my shyness and wedge my foot into that open door and toot my horn. But I’m a writer not a talker. Now I know the best combination is to be both. My day job boss wonders how I can get tongue-tied but be able to write. There’s another writer at the day job who is even quieter than me and people have mused how she can be so good with the written word but not the spoken one. At least in my case, I’m not shy to say words in silence. By the time someone reads them I’ve had a chance to edit them until they’re perfect. Neither do I have to watch their reaction if I’ve flubbed up.

But I digress, or do I?

Once a writer becomes published, we’re suddenly thrust into the dual job of being a marketer. The more eloquent we are in the spoken word as well as the written word, the better the chance we have to succeed. At least IMHO.

Unfortunately, being pretty doesn’t count. Look at Sarah Palin. Once she opened her mouth she became a liability. Come on! Even my 13 year old knows Africa is a continent not a country.

My day job boss is big on scripts or as he calls them “talk tracts”. The more I think about this, the more I know I have to develop my own talk tracts to handle these situations even though it means stepping outside my comfort zone. Nobody else is going to sell your books but you. Not really. Not unless you have thousands of dollars to hire a good publicist (which I don’t – yet).

As a reader would you mind if a writer told you about her books if you met them unexpectedly?

As a writer, how do you handle these situations? Do you have any suggestions how to overcome shyness?

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