I heard another
piece of advice several years ago and found it to be SO true. A Best Selling Author is
not necessarily a "best writing author." If we want to sell our
books, we should study aspects of sales, marketing, publicity, and promotion or
have someone in our camp who does. I personally know writers who could write
circles around me AND half the "Best Sellers" list. But not every self published author has a staff. Sales and
marketing gives authors an audience; honing craft gives style, versatility, and
longevity. We need to cover the spectrum.
I was a Business major in college but
studied the craft of writing independently at the public library, and then later,
workshops; and then fellowships and major writing/arts grants; and networks AND
business networks. I extended myself by lending a helping hand through
volunteerism. I recently won an award for fiction and was also named
NYCHA/NAACP New York City literacy ambassador. But for many years, I was a
hermit who stayed at home, wrote in secret, and only shared my gift with those
close to me.
My best friend Karen had to speak some sense into me. She said,
"It's not who you know, it's who knows you. You could know everybody, but
if folks don't know who you are, what you do and how well you do it, they won't care or give you the
time of day."
By the time, I was able to receive and absorb this advice,
talent-wise I was overripe fruit. I had been studying the craft for years and years and years, so doors just seemed to magically open. But
for many, many years, I was that quiet, inquisitive girl in all the workshops,
at all the readings and book fairs, walking with the journal and pencil in my hand jotting details,
and with that Titanium flashdrive around my neck, because the makings of an entire publishing
company was on it.
