Today’s post, of course, is brought to you by the letter E in the A to Z Challenge and while I did come up with a whole lot of E words I feel these three are enough and most important.
Exposure, while being fully respectable and modest, is what drives an author to having a book that is read. It’s “easy” today to put yourself out there with a blog post or ebook and feel satisfied with being “published” but it’s not as simple as that. While it does feel wonderful to have it built, in a world of so many authors trying their hand at storytelling, readers won’t come easily without exposure and that does include outside of social media.
There’s twitter, Facebook, and all the other sites out there that have become a battleground for actually being seen in. Even if you follow an admired author it doesn’t mean you’ll often see their updates anymore with every changing algorithms and changes to the way they do things. Yes, one can pay for advertising to increase the chances of being seen but when selling a handful of books for $0.99 in the beginning money for marketing is not a hot commodity so I encourage you to share, “love” and spread the news about those you like who are following their passion.
Energy is something we all complain about lacking. Being lazy, being busy and not having time left over for the things we love that are maybe lower on our priority list than say… dishes and laundry. We need to tap into any reserves we possibly have to put forth effort into being ourselves and doing what we love. And with more energy emitted more energy and time will appear – it’s contagious like a smile.
And lastly, but not least, it’s not about being perfect when being creative, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Robots and followers can replicate but creation is about making flaws beautiful and connecting with others who feel the same. I hear too often that people are waiting for just that right moment and for excellence in what they show to the world. I get it, whatever you are showing to the world is more of who you are and it’s the deepest part of you. It’s scary to think someone can see into your soul and judge it based on just a fraction of what you’re worth, then again, if you show no one you won’t connect with like-minded people and shed light on your full magnificence.
So I encourage you to expose yourself by sharing those you love and admire, energize yourself through passion and evict your need for excellence and just start sharing who you are.
Let me know who you are so I can share in your beautiful creative flaws.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland