Fumble-tongue, or Elevator pitches on bullet trains

That title won’t net SEO…

When you know your work too well to tell about it…it’s like how we sometimes cannot describe our best friend standing right with us because we know him/her so well, but haven’t needed Words of Introduction for a long while.

or…

We don’t even see the obvious, let alone articulate it to strangers: “Yes, there is a very thin veneer protecting the most precious form of life that we take for granted.”

Here’s the impetus for this post: I’m standing at the book fair, technically Local Author’s Day, when someone strolls by and asks me what my books are about. I have written descriptions for each on the site, on the book’s back, etc…however I have not been used to talking aloud, impromptu, about them.

Worse yet, I was in no way prepared to discuss the complicated time line that threads through them. I was not ready to talk about them with out revealing spoilers…even so, one customer bought the whole trilogy and signed up for my newsletter, even with my punky attempt at an introduction.

Otherwise I felt very good about my ‘place at the table’ with the other local authors. I know more about tabling than most, having worked recruit tables, state fair tables, resource fair tables—the works. I can adopt a frame of mind to speak to strangers, and I should be able to talk all day about the works I have spent thousands of hours writing.

Maybe I need to rehearse, or maybe I should at least have some routine phrases. One booth near mine hat a bawler belting out: “Witches, wizards, magic and smut!” to all passers-by. I think I can do something more on-point for my genre.

It was emphasized that my current covers (the cloud ones) are far from being on target for sci-fi readers. I also had another reminder that I need my “meets” worked out. Even “Breakfast Club meets Terminator” is not quite right.

I want to network with peers, now more than ever, and I had a great time visiting with several of them when I could slip away from my booth. I learned from every encounter. I picked up some guest speakers for my classes, and I think some could be great in a writing circle or book club.

So again, I think sometimes when we are too close to someone/something we might not be able to represent it well. I’m going to learn a professional distance from my novels so that I can better share them with the rest of the world.

“I don’t know man, I’m not too sure about this…”

What draws you into a book display, into taking a chance on a new series or author?

Honey I’m still free (well, $15 or so) take a chance on me.