Make Us Want to Be You! By C. Hope Clark
Quote from the FundsforWriters Annual Essay Contest:
"Come up with a promotional plan for your writing. Whether
you are a copywriter or a romance novelist, a poet or a
fantasy author, describe how you would promote your talent
over a one-year period. Maybe you have a book coming out,
or you've decided to grow your copywriting or editing business,
or you manage a newsletter and want to expand your platform.
What is your plan...and why? Remember, amaze us with your
innovation, your drive, your creativity or your ambition.
Make us want to be you!"
I just came back from a conference where most of the people
attending wanted to write but weren't motivated. They wanted
to be a writer. They wanted to write sweet words. They wanted
to be recognized as a wordsmith, an envy to others who struggle
with telling a story.
I could count on one hand the people who were ravenously
hungry to write hard, long and intensely enough to beat the
odds of becoming traditionally published.
"I just write stories about..."
"I'd love to one day write..."
"I've been working on a story, but..."
"No way could I do what he did..."
"I have a family and a job. It's hard for me..."
Most people listened to speakers say how they achieved
success then made excuses why those methods didn't apply
to them.
Or I heard the opposite. Authors self-published a book or
two and felt they'd arrived. There were no more hurdles.
They strutted, at home with their conclusion they were
a published author, and they could rest on their laurels.
The theme of the FundsforWriters annual contest is
"Make us want to be you." I don't want to be either of the
above author-types. I don't want to reach the end of my
journey wondering if I could have published. I don't want
people remembering me as pompous and arrogant.
What I don't see in either writer is a will to touch readers.
Somehow, when you have this fabulous story to be told, the
need to publish is replaced with a need to reach readers.
The genuine author doesn't want to be adored by readers.
He or she wants to touch others with their words - alter
lives - cause laughter - produce tears. The genuine writer
makes a reader want to be the author, possess a part of
the author, understand the author.
When the thought "I want to be published" is replaced with
"I want people to love this story," magic happens. That's
when the shyness or the arrogance of a writer disappears.
That's when the only goal is to write a great story.
This message is short, but I'm hoping it's potent. We can
write for ourselves or we can write for others. Guess
which one an agent wants? Guess which one a publisher
wants? Guess which one sells?
BIO
C. Hope Clark is rewriting her novels now with the readers
in mind. www.fundsforwriters.com
Labels: fundsforwriters, Hope Clark
