“Hi, I’m Rae Ellen Lee, an internationally unknown author,” my friend says to the bicycle rider who has stopped to chat with us in a Utah canyon.
Rae Ellen is more forward and much funnier than I am, and I love this line. It cuts through the embarrassing back-and-forth that, for me, usually goes something like this:
I’m not lying, I actually am an author! This is me signing books at Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Me: “I’m an author. I write mysteries and romances.”
Polite Stranger: “That’s great!” Then, peering at me with curiosity, “Would I have heard of you?”
Me (mortified): “Probably not. My publisher never promoted my books.” (Unsaid: And I’m obviously a total nincompoop when it comes to marketing.) “But here’s a card describing my books. (Nervous laugh.) Do me a favor and leave it in a public place.”
Sigh. It’s such a dilemma. How and when does a clueless introvert author make herself known to new readers? I avoid anyone who constantly hawks herself or her products; why would anyone appreciate it when I do? But I don’t have a big family-and-friends network out there supporting me, I can’t afford to advertise in expensive magazines, and since I write outdoorsy animal lover mysteries, my outdoorsy animal lover readers don’t tend to sit around chatting on social media.
So when I pass up the opportunity to tell a friendly stranger that I’m an author, I never know whether to feel like I’m being just a nice normal person or some sort of expert self-defeating anti-entrepreneur. So I generally say something only half the time and usually end up feeling like a complete loser.
A couple of days after meeting the bicyclist, as I ride the shuttle from St. George to the Las Vegas airport, I chat with my very nice seatmate. We talk about Utah and other places we have visited, and after a while, she mentions that she reads constantly. Aha-an opening! I tell her I am a voracious reader, too. And then she says she likes mysteries. Feeling like a hunter with a deer in the crosshairs, I tell her I am a mystery author, pull out my card that describes my books, and hand it over. She says she’ll definitely look for my books.
Later, at the airport, I share a restaurant table with an interesting man from Germany who has been visiting all the western parks. I love Germans, they are such adventurers, and like me, many are enthusiastic about the American West, its culture and its beautiful wild places. We talk about places he visited on this trip (he flew to the Cook Islands, too!) and a bit about how Americans and Cook Islanders eat unhealthy diets and will pay for that in the long run, and briefly agree on how politics need to move away from the current all-about-the-profit mode to work-for-the-common-good mode.
Of course, while we talk, I am thinking, do I tell him I’m an author and some of my books are published in Germany? Wouldn’t that be a typical it’s-all-about-me American move? Besides, he’d probably ask me the name of my books there, and my cards are all in English. I can’t even spell the German titles, let alone pronounce them. Nor could I cough up the name of the German publisher. So we part politely without exchanging names and wander off to catch our separate flights back home.
From now on, I’m borrowing Rae Ellen’s line: “Hi, I’m Pamela Beason, an internationally unknown author.”
And I’ll keep using it until a stranger says, “Oh, I know that name! I love your books!”
It’s always a dilemma, hey? I often wonder if the super aggressive in-your-face marketing types actually do sell a ton more, or if they just annoy people. I love Rae Ellen’s line, definitely handy!
Hi, Laura! I bet the super aggressive do sell more AND annoy others at the same time. Since I work mostly at home and am a reclusive type, I simply don’t know enough people that I can afford to annoy ANY of them. I need ALL my friends! Speaking of which, give a holler next time you’re blazing through Bellingham and let’s catch up.
Oh, I know your name! I love your books!
Thanks, Carol! I love your book, too, it really opened my eyes about how brain and language work together (or don’t); absolutely everyone should read Crossing the Void: My Aphasic Journey. You will always be one of my real-life heroes.
What a fun post! Saying “I’m an internationally unknown author” is like a 12-step statement. Figuring out what to say after that can be tricky, depending on the other person’s response. I like to say, “but that that’s all gonna change one of these days.” I loved hiking with you, Pam, and talking about writing. Hope you’ll come back again next spring. Maybe we should invite other authors and have an Internationally Unknown Author Event in the desert.
Oh, you’re so much more clever than I with that follow-up! Now I have to borrow that, too. And I LOVE the Internationally Unknown Author Event idea. Hey, that could even be an international holiday celebrated around the world!
Ha! That’s a perfect line to describe it!
and I love how you put yourself out there — very funny post about a very common problem for authors — best of luck to you! hope you’re internationally KNOWN soon! :o)
I used to say “freelance writer,” before “published author” — and if they said, “oh! where are your books?” I was quick to say, “oh, Amazon and B&N.” I have noticed some blank stares… even when I say “I’m a St. Martin’s Press author” I get that deer-in-the-headlights look. LOL. Especially since I’m writing as a team under a pseudonym. Sigh. Always keep a bookmark, postcard or biz card handy, I have learned that. Great post.
Didn’t know how else to contact you as I don’t do social networking sites. Just read your Neema books and wondered if there would be anymore as I absolutely loved them. I don’t normally read these types of books but thought I’d give them a go when I was recommended the first installment on bookhub. Really glad I did now. Many thanks Clare.
Thanks so much, Clare! I am working on the next Neema book, although a bit slowly as I have other jobs to finish before that. Neema, Gumu, Kanoni and their associated humans will have many more adventures, and if you have any ideas for a plot, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at pam@pamelabeason.com. Thanks for commenting here!