Introverts Step Outside the Box
My dear partner, once again, gave me a nudge, "Did you see this post Katie put on Facebook about a workshop she called 'life changing'?"
I blinked. "Nope." I blinked some more.
"I think you should sign up for it! It sounds like something beneficial for your writing."
"Um. Maybe, but i have a hair appointment that conflicts. Guess I'll have to miss out." Whew dodged that bullet—not.
"You could call and reschedule your hair cut. I'm sure Josh will accommodate you."
Dang. Drats. I picked up my phone and sent a text to Josh. Of course, he was more than happy to reschedule the appointment, just as my better half predicted.[She's ALWAYS right!] And so, before I lost my nerve, I jumped onto The Loft's Web site and registered for the workshop. Badda bing…badda boom. Done.
And that's how I found myself sitting in a classroom on the third floor of The Loft at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
Just the word ‘publicity’ in reference to me makes me feel all clammy. I’m an introvert, not much scares me more than the thought of having to sell myself. Yikes! Sell myself? To other people? Out loud? To me, this is the ‘dark side’ of pursuing book publication. With that said, the workshop was fabulous! Linda White provided an excellent packet of information and hints. And she engendered amazing discussions of how we, as authors, need to begin the publicity prep early on.
There is so much more to this whole writing process. And I’ve been convinced the actual writing was hard. Keeping my butt in the chair. Pounding out the words. I’ve now been proven wrong. The hard part comes later.
Agent? No Agent? Indie press? Traditional press? Self-publish? Launch party? No Launch party? Attend conferences? Take classes? Attend festivals? Keep up a presence on social media? So many things to do! Who has the time to write? 
I won’t go into all the details that Linda shared because I think that in order to experience the full effect folks need to make the commitment to attend a workshop. Be on the lookout for another offering and jump at the opportunity. You won’t regret it. And you’ll come away with several pearls of wisdom to guide you on the publicity tour.
The other benefit to attending the workshop was meeting some amazing and talented folks. Writers, to me, are kind of like ‘bike people’—SUPER NICE! They truly care about your story and they’re ready with ideas and advice. What’s worked and what hasn’t, if they have experience. I’m usually pleased by the interaction I have with these types of people and this workshop was no exception. I feel like it’s a win-win if people are asking to exchange email addresses at the end! Yay!
I highly recommend this workshop to authors, especially first-timers that are closing in on publication. Plenty of good, solid advice on how to navigate the bumpy road to publication and beyond!
Thank you, Linda White. And thank you to all my fellow attendees.
