Writers can be shy and retiring types of people, who humbly sit at home, tapping or writing out the words that express whatever it is they feel compelled to express. The writing is the point of who they feel themselves to be, they are writers, they write.
But when you have words that have come together to form a book, and that book is published, then comes a completely other stage of the process, the marketing stage … These days, the writers who sell their books are those who can also to at least a reasonable job of selling themselves.
This may be simple talking about their books, to interested people, whether individually, or in group situations. Or in might be on the radio, or even television. These things can be more than the writer first thought they’d have to do …
The good writer needs to be a good presenter to, to give their words the best boost possible, and attract the interest of possible book buyers … It is a learning curve I’m doing my best to get my focus on, and tomorrow, I’m going to be getting the word out about one of my books.
That book is the memoir I wrote after I was diagnosed in 2010 with Multiple Sclerosis “Mick Jane and Me – Living Will With MS”. Tomorrow, at the Gawler Poets at the Pub Poetry reading event (2-4pm Prince Albert Hotel Gawler South Australia). I will have a time when I can do my stuff and read from that book, in the best way I can, and also talk about my life with MS.
This event will also be a fundraising event for the MS Society SA and NT, as well as an awareness raising event. MS is a widely varied disease, with different people have a variety of different symptoms. Some with MS have a lot of pain, most have numb, and/or tingling hands and legs. Some have blindness of various levels, continence problems can occur for some, balance problems leading to falls are common, muscle weakness can be common as well.
Find out more about it the fundraising event here.
Some of those things are part of what I have, or have had, or possible may have in the future, I don’t know … But apart from my most recent fall, (OUCH) I’m doing well. I went for a walk with my husband and our dog this morning, and was able to easily keep up with them both.
Anyway, tomorrow I will be dressed up, wearing red for a reason (raising awareness of Multiple Sclerosis), reading from my book, and I hope, helping to raise money, and getting new orders for a copy of this book!
I’ll have copies of my other books there too, so who knows whether I will get any sales? Doing my part in this fundraising and talking about Multiple Sclerosis, these are the main things for the afternoon for me. Book sales are always nice though!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 