This may come as a surprise to some of you but I have quite a few whips leaning up in the corner of my bedroom though should you go to move one I suspect you would quickly gather by the cobwebs that no doubt adorn them that they haven’t been in… er… action for some time. I have an assortment, different lengths, different widths, different materials needed for different activities.
I guess at this point I should clarify that I don’t get up to fifty shades of shenanigans but that these all hail from what sadly seems like a bygone era in my life now, the time when I used to ride. *sigh*
Phew, I hear you cry with a collective sigh of relief… bet you thought for a moment that this was me announcing a change in writing direction! 😉
Dressage, showing, everyday riding – all require a type of crop and there is even a hunting whip (I don’t btw) which inexplicably has spent the last few years little while slung over the gold metal tie back things that keep our curtains open. I imagine you all have similar accoutrements decorating your bedrooms… no? Just me then.
Moving on… when our windows were about to be replaced recently the curtains had to come down, as did the metal things and, ever thoughtful, my BH removed the hunting whip…but only as far as the wardrobe door where it was left hanging instead…in full view.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realise all of this was on display until my local friendly window fitters had spent the best part of the day in there and it was only later when I was straightening the room again that I noticed just how many crops I had leaning up in the corner (in addition to the one hanging over the door!) and I have to admit my heart did sink a little bit.
I wondered if they’d noticed (of course they had, it’s only me that wanders around oblivious to what surrounds me in my own home) and, assuming they had, what they had thought.
Now generally I don’t give much heed to what people think of me, having reached an age where I realise that nothing much matters anymore, but I guess that’s not entirely true in this writing world. It’s something we should all consider every day particularly in this era of online activity when it is so easy to give offence, give off the wrong vibe or sometimes just because we are having an off day be downright snippy.
So getting to the point, and you will be delighted to know that there is one, this post is about the perception others have of us and of the impression we should aim to give.
We are told/reminded all the time about how to build our presence, our author brand and platform if you like and how we present ourselves on social media. An author friend of mine told me that if they were feeling less than chipper at any time they would stay well clear of Twitter for fear of that frame of mind becoming apparent in their tweets. This is probably a good rule to live by.
Some authors, I am told, build a whole persona online to reflect what they write as a way of attracting their target market and I can see this working. I can also imagine it being fun to ‘become’ someone else but I think I would struggle with being anyone other than myself. Although of course as Georgia Rose I’m not exactly myself either am I… confusing? I think soooo…
When I first came into the self-publishing arena I was surprised, and delighted, to find out what a truly generous and supportive community this is and I’m even more amazed at the number of wonderful friends I have made. In what other business would you get that support from those who are essentially your competitors, although of course in reality they are not. No author can satisfyingly quench the reading requirements of one reader, let along the billions out there, so there is no need to be reticent in your support of others. Hell we even share marketing tips in a game that is as accurate to predict as throwing darts in the dark.
In what other industry would you laud your competitors, publicise their promotions and support their work with whatever your time and ability will allow? It really is a refreshing environment to work in, and yet there are always those who wish to spoil it for the others. Of course I am talking about the haters, the ones who pick on the slightest weakness shown and exploit it. Those who troll the work of others via hateful reviews or comments where their bile and spite is revealed. I was shocked to read recently of the going’s on between several well-known, and supposedly respectable, traditionally published authors where it had been revealed that some had been posting negative reviews on the work of others…really? How small minded is this? And how tarnished a reputation now… This all comes as a harsh reminder for us all to be better and aiming for that I loved seeing this on Facebook recently…
After saying I didn’t worry about what people thought of me I have been more than a little concerned recently about what those visiting my website must think. Oooh look at the state of that they must have been muttering. What sort of lazy arsed writer can’t even manage to keep that up to date? It doesn’t create the right impression at all, does it? And the thing is they’d be right, my website has been in a shocking mess – I’ve been embarrassed by it but it has felt like too big a job to tackle in the limited time slots I’ve had available. I also knew I was planning bigger changes ahead so what was the point it doing it then having to redo it? Well of course there was a point and I should have kept on top of it – it is now tidied, to a degree, or at least (nearly) updated and the other changes will be following on – hopefully within the next month.
I find I’m only just recovering after finishing last year in a ragged heap of inability to keep anything current and it is surprising how quickly things can suffer. By ‘things’ I mean (websites aside) sales and the like. My sales have been slowing. It’s no surprise as I’ve not been marketing in the way I need to so that is about to change. I have a paperback giveaway running this week for A Single Step (only available to US readers I’m afraid) but here is the link if you fancy entering
Then I’m running an offer on the ebooks of Before the Dawn next week (from the 8th Feb) and Thicker than Water the week after (from the 15th Feb) – dates for your diary should you be interested.
Sorry, this is going on a bit but just to finish off the other area of concern is that I follow several blogs and I would hate the thought, and again the impression it gives, should any of the bloggers think I’m not interested in their work. The fact is that my email inbox runneth over with an abundance of superb blog posts that with all seriousness could take me all day, every day, to read and share. So unless I win the lottery and become a woman of considerably more leisure time than is currently available to her I shall regretfully never get to read most of them, but, I also can’t quite bring myself to delete them because I always think…one day…one day I’ll get to that.
Thankfully the truly appalling state of my email management, being a matter of some delicacy is a secret kept strictly between me and my laptop but I can tell you there is so much good stuff in there, just waiting for me to get to it.
As post titles go, that has to be one of the more eye-catching – my eyes zoned in on it as soon as I opened my email!
And I know just what you mean… there just isn’t enough time to do everything you want to do. We can only do our best, and you are one of the most generous RTers and sharers I ‘know’. Bless you.
You could always try sending your window fitters details of where to buy your books… 🙂
I did have a giggle when it came to me Linda 🙂 We did have a, very brief, discussion about the books actually – purely because my paperbacks are also stored in the bedroom but I’m not sure they were big readers of romantic suspense – haha! However I did sell some to a guy who came round to do a Mori poll #nevermissanopportunity 😉 Thanks for visiting, and for your lovely comment!
“I imagine you all have similar accoutrements decorating your bedrooms… no? Just me then.”
Your window fitters must have had an excellent time at the pub that night. I’ll bet they didn’t have to buy a single round…
This is my concern Barb… they were very friendly – haha! Oh well, I shall probably end up in a ‘Tales of a Window Fitter’ memoir at some point 😉
That’s definitely an attention grabbing headline Georgia. I knew about the horse riding though, but obviously the window fitters didn’t. Some lovely sentiments in your post too. I agree, the independent writing world is an incredibly supportive environment. 🙂
I can’t think of another industry that is like this Heather, although I’m very glad I’m on the self-publishing side of things. Thanks for visiting 🙂
I don’t have whips, I do have a polocrosse stick in the hall stand. And a pair of jods in the ‘don’t-go-there’ box. Sigh.
Lovely blog, and a reminder to me to do some dusting in my own website 🙂
So I’m intrigued…the ‘don’t go there’ box?? Thanks for stopping by Elizabeth and enjoy your dusting 🙂
Well, I am so grateful that you touched base with my website -thank you!- and being a newbie, I am beginning to experience how difficult it is to keep up with everything. I want to read so many blogs, connect and interact with the online community, keep a weekly blog going as well as finish editing my novel and also try to remember that I have a family. And I am such a social media luddite (still don’t understand twitter properly and my children constantly roll their eyes at me) and worry about the etiquette of using these things. You have a wonderfully successful website and I don’t know how you find time to do all that you do. So, again, thank you for taking time out to look at mine 🙂 Definitely stopping by again.
How lovely to see you here and thank you for the compliment 🙂 I can totally empathise with your situation, I think many of us feel that way. I am desperate to get going on my next piece of work but have no idea how I’m going to find the time. I also feel the same way as you about blogs as I have so many excellent posts plop into my inbox every day but don’t have the time to read many what with having to earn money in the day job as well (btw also following yours now :-))
As a little plug here and regarding your social media luddite comment I’m going to gently point you in the direction of the second workshop I do in my other incarnation (How to Sell your Books) – here’s the link, http://www.threeshirespublishing.com/workshops/ this is aimed at beginners and will cover the etiquette, particularly of Twitter – however you are already doing a great job on that blog of yours and I look forward to reading more from you in the future 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by