Sharing is caring right? I reluctantly agree to the question, nodding my head but looking for the nearest exit when I respond. We all have our reasons to share or hold back.
I have always had a shyness to me. When I was a child I would hide my face behind my mom’s leg when meeting someone new. When I was in school I quickly learned that speaking in front of a class made my palms sweat and heart thump and as an adult who started publishing novels and learning that I have to get my feet wet all those anxieties made their appearance deep inside my soul. Marketing and pitching my work and reaching out to strangers was an entirely other level of having to overcome the shyness.
They say fake it till You make it! “Boo!” I say but know that all the, “Theys” are right because those, “Theys” have reached their goals. They are the celebrities we have come to know. We see them on the news feeds, tabloids, their work is being successfully marketed for our consumption. We see those, “Theys” on TV, the internet and we listen to them on radio or podcast.
I started off writing in science-fiction and then went to writing in the romance genre. The first step to overcoming my shyness was that I started off sharing the news of my science-fiction novel (My first published book) with family, friends and the public. Though I was shy, the satisfaction I gained from accomplishing the task helped me swallow some of my nerves and I got over myself and that fear of having attention on my book and me.
I wish I could say that I have conquered my fear and that I’m thriving when attention is on me and my work but it is still a work in progress. It’s one thing to publish a book and have the attention, which I am so thankful for and sci-fi is a much loved genre. People are passionate about it and I have learned that once you gain a fan of science-fiction you gain an ultimate cheerleader. I enjoy writing sci-fi, I’m comfortable with it. I have some graphic scenes in mine, dynamic relationships and subject matter that deals with death and all those things, and bought some of the topics are sensitive I got over the fear and shared.
After I finished that novel I got inspiration to write a new novel which turned into a series. It is romance right down to the core. It deals with similar subject matter in dealing with dynamic relationships, loss as well as romantic scenes and subject matter that calls into question doing what’s right. Both my science-fiction novel and romance novels cover topics that may be sensitive to certain readers and for me even though I loved writing and sharing a work with others it still puts a fear in my heart.
I’m afraid that the stories won’t be well received. There is nothing else other than that side of a personality that begs, “Please love my work” I’m more comfortable in sharing the sci-fi than the romance which is silly because when you compare my ability and skill, my sci-fi was my first work where I was learning everything about being an author. I was still learning my voice, whereas the romance novels are my second, third and fourth books and with each novel my author muscles get stronger. I write out the reasons and they are totally illogical but that fear it still clings to my heart.
So we come back to the question of why are you being a chicken? The answer, “I don’t know..” but I do know that I have to shake it and share because what’s the point of being creative if you can’t.
About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her books are available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon & Createspace
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