Sell Your Soul

It has been brought to my attention that my stock is on the rise. I wish I could cash in but right now, I'm just intrigued. Blogger Brother is watching.

In fact, not just Blogger Brother. Since updating my profile and putting my email address out to the world, I've received two pieces of, essentially, spam advertising. From people who evidently think I'm interested in mysteries. Wonder where they could have got that idea from.

One of them, in particular, got me thinking. Yes, a form letter, from a new author, telling me a zillion reasons why I should buy his book. I don't remember his name, or the name of his forthcoming release. But if I did, it would likely be pinned to my dartboard.

There's no doubt that it is hard to break out as a debut author. And increasingly, the task of marketing and selling the book falls to the author. I have even encountered publishers, in my research, that require you to submit a marketing plan instead of a synopsis. To me, it seems unfortunate. Particularly as an aspiring author, there is so much to learn. You are a writer, a storyteller, a creator and, in my genre, you need to do your research and become a semi-professional on whatever details are pertinent to your story. In my case, that meant researching with the RCMP, going to the ME's office, traveling to British Columbia (twist my arm - I used to live there) and learning more about forensics and cause of death than I could have imagined 15 months ago, when I first conceived of this crazy idea.

And then, to throw in marketing guru? And people think being an author is such an easy job! We haven't even gotten to dealing with wacked-out stalker fans, attending conventions, signing until your arm falls off (if you're lucky) and facing the reviews. Why do we do it?

Well, because we're masochists, clearly. And we love to write. Once I discovered what it was to be a novelist, to finish the first draft of a manuscript (which I cringe thinking about now!) I had the bug. Nothing on tv was as interesting as the people living in my head.

Now, with everything going on, I've been forced to reconsider my initial reaction to the spam email. Was I too harsh? Do I sympathize with this new writer, trying to break in?

No, and yes.

I think we must always remember that we have to live with ourselves, at the end of the day. This is something I picked up from my cousin**. He was being interviewed on radio, talking about songwriting, and one of the things he said is that different people are comfortable with different means of expression and you have to consider that when you're working. Okay, I'm badly paraphrasing, but it's an interesting point. In some ways, I think he's so damned lucky, getting to collaborate with other artists, having others stir the creative juices. But I also see, because I know him, how different people bring out different elements of his personality. Clearly, when he wrote "WHAT WAS I THINKING?" with Dierks Bentley and Brett Beavers there was a different train of thought rolling through from when he co-wrote "RUN TO ME" with Paul Brandt. Not to mention all but one of the songs on his own debut album.

What you're comfortable with extends beyond the writing, but also to the marketing. And that's something I really understood as I watched Deric's career unfold. I've seen girls ask him to sign their chests. I've stumbled across some, ahem, racy fan fiction girls have written about him. And yet there's no prima donna attitude, Deric's more down-to-earth today than ever, and he's been incredibly supportive of my writing. Of course, that might change when he reads it... LOL!

I think that everything you go through in life, good and bad, shapes you. We're always growing through our experiences. I know I'm about to learn the mixed blessing of a professional edit as I work to get my manuscript turned into a book ready to be unleashed on the world.

But one thing I hope is that I can keep my head on my shoulders, and live with a clear conscience.

And as much as I appreciate the value of press and the need to create awareness of my work, I hope that at the end of the day, I can honestly say I'm a writer first and foremost, and that developing my skills, growing in my craft always remains the thing that is most important to me.

Ask me what I think when I get my first royalty payment and see if I've revised my opinion!


** Okay, so we're third cousins. But we were in homeroom together in high school. And the thought of girls drooling over him? That's just gross. Not because he's gross. He isn't. Okay, I'm getting into a deep hole here, but the point is, he's like...family, in a distant Nashville-Calgary-only-see-you-when-touring kinda way.