My Top Ten of Being an Author
My TOP TEN observations as a new author…
# 10. I carry copies of Guilty of Love in my purse, trunk of my car, and my oversized tote bag. I sweet talked my husband into stuffing copies inside a newly purchased backpack, and bribed my son to lug a box of copies around campus. Everyone is a potential victim—oops—I mean reader, even the mailman.
# 9. When I’m invited to speak about Guilty of Love at an event, I respond, “Okay,” enthusiastically before I know the date, time, and place. So far, I haven’t been asked to go to a strip club—Whew!—I would have to pack a bottle of Holy Oil.
# 8. I’ve become an outsider as readers reject my input when they’re arguing over the characters I created. One woman was so taken with Parke and Malcolm that she patted her chest every time she spoke of them as if she would faint.
# 7. The internet has become one of my best tools for getting the word out locally and in many cities across the country. I didn’t realize how far word traveled until I received a note from a woman in Nigeria who wanted to know where she could get my book. I hadn’t planned to leave the continent so I suggested Amazon. I hope I gave a good answer.
# 6. The feedback I’m getting is unbelievable so much so that readers are demanding a sequel to Guilty of Love. Their demands include finding Grandma BB a boyfriend to determining the sex of Cheney’s baby. One coworker even suggested a scheme concocted by Imani. Believe it or not, their suggestions are worth entertaining.
# 5. Some have inquired about how my book sales are going. They assure me they will get the book. Since I provide curb service, my response is always, “You know, I happen to be right around the corner from you, and I’ll stop by. There is plenty in my trunk.”
# 4. Waiting for emails from readers with remarks about Guilty of Love, but once I receive them, I’m in awe that they are talking about something “I” actually wrote.
# 3. During an Indianapolis book signing, I convinced one shopper to invest in the future of a debut author and be part of history when I out-sell J. K. Rowling—it sounded good to me. I knew my art of persuasion was perfected when a Latino man who wasn’t proficient at English bought a copy.
# 2. The pressure is on for my next novel, Talk to Me, to out shine Grandma BB. The story doesn’t have a gun-toting senior citizen, but Talk to Me does have busybody.
# 1. My bank account dares me to quit my job—day, night, part-time, or per diem.
