Posted by Susan Crossman on Feb 18, 2012 | 0 comments
I’m the luckiest person I know.
As a career writer with a focus on business copy I’ve met many fascinating people engaged in compelling work and I’ve had some amazing experiences. I’ve toured an underground salt mine and a factory that turned out millions of donuts weekly. I’ve gone incognito to political meetings and fully ID’d to retirement homes. I’ve met people old enough to have ridden horses down Yonge Street 100 years ago and others who glide along the crest of new technologies.
The opportunities are still cropping up for me – a few months ago I enjoyed a special behind-the-scenes tour of a major international airport and just last week I was walking the beach in California with some people who are changing the world. No matter how you look at it, my work as a paid writer is exhilarating and fulfilling.
Now that I’ve added “published author” to my writing identity, I’m immersing myself in a whole new world of activity. Here are my top three book activities right now – no doubt there will be more to add as the year goes on:
1. Booksignings. I’m a people person in general and I especially love meeting people who like talking about books. Despite all the gloom and doom we hear in the media about the death of publishing I don’t think we are anywhere near the death of reading. Although the publishing business is definitely changing, it’s not going to go away.
2. Radio interviews. Taking part in a vibrant conversation with someone who is interested in what I’m doing is very flattering, to be sure – but it also gives me insights into what other people care about, which is valuable information for an author who wants to connect well with her audience!
3. Learning about the publishing industry. I’m really pleased that Manor House Publishing selected my novel from among thousands of manuscripts that are currently yearning for publication (well, technically it’s their authors who are doing the yearning). It’s a competitive business and with the blossoming of self-publishing, the game is changing faster than colors on a chameleon. Many of my business clients have written books they would like to bring to print as well and I’m learning as much as I can as quickly as possible so I can serve my business clients with impact.
It can sometimes be a bit of a challenge for me to seamlessly blend my business writing and authoring activities – and aren’t I lucky to have that problem? There’s grace in the juggling though — and who knows, maybe my next book will involve a donut-eating salt miner who rides political horses in retirement homes? Stay tuned for more!