From DL Hammons...
How this blogfest works is so simple I can’t understand why
anyone wouldn’t want to do it. Sign-up to participate with Mr. Linky below, then sometime during the weekend of December 16th
thru 18th re-post
your favorite blog offering from earlier in this year, or one that you
believe failed to receive the exposure it deserved. On that weekend what
everyone will be reading is the best of the best (as determined by you) from this
year. The blogosphere will be chock full
2016 writing brilliance! Encouragement,
enlightenment, knowledge, bared souls, stimulation, hilarity, insecurities,
success stories! All on display…the very
same day. And it couldn't be any easier
to take part...no writing necessary! :)
Please sign-up and then shout out to all of your blogging
friends and encourage them to sign up as well.
Take the badge above and plaster it everywhere, blogging graffiti gone
wild. Tweet about it (#deja2016vu) and post the picture on Instagram. Sign up
below and start looking through those old posts!
So, which post did I choose to re-post? Well, after careful consideration, I picked one that I wrote for the Insecure Writer's Support Group in October.
Why? I think you'll see.
#IWSG - Yes, I'm insecure, but I'm also resilient.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and
concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been
through the fire can offer assistance and guidance.
Need help with a topic of conversation? IWSG has a monthly question for you!
October 5 Question: When do you know your story is ready?
Alex J. Cavanaugh's awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Angela Wooldridge, and Susan Gourley!
***
Insecure: not confident or assured; uncertain and anxious
Resilient: able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
***
I wrote a short story specifically for an anthology that folded like a lawn chair.
I was pissed, but at the same time really disappointed that I didn't get to share my story with my family, friends, and readers.
Of course, there were options.
-Find another anthology - submit
-Find short story magazines - submit
-Find short story contests - enter
-Offer it for free on my blog - in pieces
-Offer it for free w/ newsletter sign-up
-Try to upload it to Createspace/Amazon and sell it for 99 cents
-Find short story magazines - submit
-Find short story contests - enter
-Offer it for free on my blog - in pieces
-Offer it for free w/ newsletter sign-up
-Try to upload it to Createspace/Amazon and sell it for 99 cents
Most of these sounded time consuming, possibly expensive, and really 'out of my comfort zone'.
But, I wanted people to read it. After all, that's why we write them!
Last week all I could think to myself was...
I
can't publish it on my own. It's too hard and I've never done it. I
don't know what I'm thinking. No one will want to purchase a short story
for 99 cents.
Yesterday morning I woke up thinking...Why the hell not? Lots of people self-publish. I'm no different. Hell, if people will pay for dinosaur porn [yes, that's a real thing], then people will want to read my short story! Even for 99 cents!
So, I took the plunge. I went through the Kindle Direct Publishing FAQ sections and I followed all the KDP guidelines and before I even really knew it, the darn short story was up on Amazon!
My
point? Was I insecure? Hells yeah, I was. But, it was either leave that
short story on my computer for no one to read or try something strange,
new, and different!
Our insecurities try to keep us down, but our resilience keeps us going.
***
Interested in the short story?
As Jack Munro struggles with an old demon, Maggie Maguire attempts to show him there's always another way.
You can download the ebook on Amazon.
There you have it! I was really proud of myself for pushing through my insecurities and getting my story out there.
And, I'm hoping by re-reading this, it spurs me on to get back to work!
Thanks for coming and have a great weekend!
I just grabbed up the story from Amazon, which I will read later, but you have inspired me to do the same thing with a short story of mine that at one point was destined to be published in an on-line magazine before it went belly up.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking part this weekend...and especially selecting this post to re-share! :)
Good for you! Resilience is key in the world of publishing. Remember Weebles? They wobble, but they don't fall down? (Do they still make Weebles, I wonder.)
ReplyDeleteGreat choice for the re-post. I self-publish my books, so that seemed like the easy way to me :D But moving outside our comfort zone is what we all need to do.
ReplyDeleteWell done! I must admit, it was a long time ago when I first self-published for Kindle. And 99c for a short story certainly seems expensive to me! But hey, you're worth it, and one of our problems is we're trapped in the 'sell it free or no-one will buy it' syndrome. Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds, but that resilience you speak of applies to 'nobody buys my book' as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, I need to congratulate myself whenever I bring my resilience into play - it's had a tough year. Anyone got a recipe for a resilience restorative? :)
Great post, Heather - glad you brought it out again!
Great repost. Well written. Brave of you to put this out there.
ReplyDeleteGo you! It's exciting and scary to take on something so totally new.
ReplyDelete@mirymom1 from
Balancing Act