Self Publishing: It's a Hustle

Over the weekend I had the chance to do a couple of things I've never done before. One was go to a show tunes concert and listen to a choir belt out a hour and a half worth of Broadway music and pop songs.

I also had to learn how to do lighting, since I was volunteered to be a stagehand. So that was fun.

But it's the other thing I did that I wanted to talk about this time.

I went to an event called Fo(u)r Books where four writers showcased their own works.

What was particularly valuable to me, was that three of the four write science fiction.

Code Blue is a YA eco-mystery that takes place in the near future, when the world has been forced to give up its rampant consumerism as a result of take shortages.

Good Fortune is a techno-thriller about the inventor of the 'always on' phone, a device that uses the electromagnetic fields produced by human beings to charge itself.

Beast is a science fiction children's book. It uses a high-low model - where the story is high interest and the vocabulary is simplified - to help readers who have difficulty understanding words (dyslexia). The writer is one of my wife's friends, J.S. Veter, and she wrote it for her son.

Each author has an opportunity to read from their chosen book. But they each took different and interesting approaches to their sales pitch. Because that's what a reading like this is - a preview for the audience; a chance to meet the authors; a chance for people like me  to network.

So let's start with their pitches. One did a straight reading - hardly any preamble. She just dove in. The others started with a little backstory: who they were and why they liked their chosen subjects, or how it was their first public reading, or relating their experience to the small crowd with a story that packed a gut punch of emotions.

I watched people's reactions to each of the stories. The straight reading had people fidgetting. It was hard to feel connected to the work. Not that it wasn't good - there just wasn't enough time to become emotionally invested. The others had much better luck. They drew out a connection with their audience by telling personal stories about how they came to their idea or what made the topic important to them.

Very different reaction.

And it makes sense. When we meet someone new, we try to find something that can connect us to one another. That's what creates the link and gets pepple interested. It's what makes us more willing to invest in each other's ideas, wellbeing and work.

I like to think my fiction can stand on its own, but the fact is that I'm trying to sell a product. And part of that product is me. Why would anyone pay their hard earned money so I can do what I love? Why should anyone care if I'm doing well or not? That's my job. To convince them it's worthwhile. To tell stories that are entertaining and enjoyable. And to connect with my readers, so they they feel valued in the exchange.

When I talk about my writing, I tell people that I want my stories to be worthwhile. To them. If I'm asking someone to spend money and time on me, I want them to feel that it was worth the investment.