Something momentous happened to me this week – I came into facebook contact with Seumas Gallacher, author of the Jack Calder crime novels. What an amazing character he is! Meeting Seumas was rather like standing on the seashore and suddenly being caught up in an enormous wave. His humour and enthusiasm for his work is infectious and he has left me dithering at the crossroads, undecided about whether I am able to be so single minded about writing, publishing and relentlessly trying to sell my work or to go the other way, holding up my hands in surrender to leave it to people like him and all those other single-minded authors out there.
Fact is, I never intended to make my writing a career; I was shortly going to retire and it was ‘something nice I could do to keep my brain going’ once I no longer had my job to help me do that. However, having been finally convinced to publish my books, I now find that I do want to sell them and perhaps I haven’t done myself justice in not trying harder to ‘get noticed’ by writing for women’s magazines or something. I found I didn’t really want to do that either; I didn’t want to get to the stage where there might be pressure upon me to provide by a certain time. The beauty of self-publishing is you can set your own deadlines.
However, the obvious drawback to self-publishing is that you have to go out there and sell yourself – and that really isn’t in my nature. I love to give gifts and a book that I’ve written is somewhat personal, like giving part of myself to a friend. But I feel bad about asking my friends to buy my books. For that reason I wonder, am I really ‘cut out’ to be a ‘proper’ author? Perhaps I should just write my books and use them as gifts. Seumas has made me stop and question what I’m doing; after all, I have a lot in my life already – like many retired people I wonder how I ever had time to work!
So, the question is, am I going to let that big wave sweep me away to bigger and better things in writing or am I going to grab the line that will pull me back to the shore to no more take the risk of being swept off my feet again? The trouble is, I just can’t stop writing…
jeanetteford51 
Reblogged this on Seumas Gallacher and commented:
…here’s an authoress standing on the cusp of ‘getting it absolutely right’… show her a bit o’ writing family LUV, Lads and Lassies of Blog Land…
…m’Lady, Jeanette, you are gonna be SUCH a successful writer… you already understand the difference between Jeanette the writer, and Jeanette the self-publisher, and, come to that, Jeanette the anything and everything else you wanna be and do..JUST DO IT! ..LUVZYA
LikeLike
Seumas, I love you mwah 🙂
LikeLike
…m’Lady, Jeanette, you are gonna be SUCH a successful writer… you already understand the difference between Jeanette the writer, and Jeanette the self-publisher, and, come to that, Jeanette the anything and everything else you wanna be and do..JUST DO IT! ..LUVZYA!
LikeLike
Like Seumas says.. just do it and see what happens 🙂
LikeLike
I’m going for it, thanks Sue x
LikeLike
It’s a bit of a learning curve, but there’s plenty of help and advice out there… and it’s a wonderful journey 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Go on. You can do as much as your comfortable with in the beginning. Go for it! 😀
LikeLike
Thanks very much – I’m gonna!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are more than welcome. 🙂
Sheesh. My brain and fingers aren’t in sync. I mean you’re not your. Is my face red!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s an apostrophe between friends? (even writer friends!) I like correct use of apostrophes but we all have a slip of the fingers sometimes! Cool your face, hot flushes are bad for those of our age 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀 😀 😀 😛
LikeLike
I am very heartened by the encouragement. Thanks very much everyone. I have much to learn and my head spins with all the technology that I still have to master! But I’m taking it one step at a time 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a highly addictive pastime.but can be such a rewarding one. Everytime you stop writing to start promoting your book you’ll either find it really hard or maybe great fun because of the people you’ll meet along the way. Maybe you won’t manage the art of promotion like Seumas, but you will still find time for fun I hope. Each person who joins your journey brings with them a new group of possible followers who can pass your message on. It really doesn’t take long to reach a lot of people. Mamny will be fellow authors just like yourself standing on the threshold of a new way of thinking re self promotion. Try and make those first steps through the door to be fun rather than scary.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx.
LikeLike
Thank you, David, I’m all set for the journey. Besides my writing I love that I’m meeting so many wonderful people, all writers and so diverse, like a rich tapestry. It’s the technology I find scary, even more than the idea of self-promotion but I generally manage to get there in the end. I know I’m not alone; we are all in various stages of the ladder, I’m just putting my foot on the first rung but I’m determined. Thanks for the hugs, I need all the hugs I can get! 🙂
LikeLike
Good luck in your journey. A journey all us writers, bloggers and dreamers go through. Each of our journeys are unique, just as we are. 🙂
(you need to put a follow button up! You can do it through your WP administration page, which you can find if you click ‘My Sites’) If you need any help, just yell out.
LikeLike
I’m yelling, Jackie! I have clicked ‘My Sites’ and the admin but still can’t work out how to get that follow button! Will I ever be able to navigate through all this stuff?
LikeLike
Hi Jeanette! I’ll walk you through to put the follow button on your site. It’s easy and something we all had to learn. So no problem.
click MY Sites
click WP Admin (on the left upper)
click on Appearance
hover over appearance and you will see a drop down box, it will have ‘Widgets’
click on Widgets
In the widgets list find the ‘Follow button’
use your mouse to drag the follow button to the right on your sidebar and drop it in.
You should have a follow button on your web page now. I’ll be around if you need any more help! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Jackie – have I done it?
LikeLike
I don’t think so Jeanette. I’m on your blog and I don’t see a follow button. Don’t lose hope though. We’ve all been at this stage of learning. Try this. When you go into widgets, try moving the follow button widget to just the first sidebar listing you see on your right. The very first one, make it the top widget. You want people to easily be able to follow you through email and this is what this button does.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have I done it now, Jackie?
LikeLike
Yes you have! Congrats! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Um, but what happened to the rest of your stuff you had on your sidebar? Like the blogs you follow? Did you take that off on purpose? I must look at what theme you are using, then I will have a better idea how many footers in your sidebar you have. BUT, the follow button is there. LOL That’s a step forward!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t let anyone or anything talk you out of it! If the people above think you can then you should and you will!
LikeLike
Thanks for your honesty, Jeanette. I think we all feel the same (or perhaps some of us more than others). But there are wonderful people out there…:)
LikeLike
I’m feeling the goosebumps, since I was in your shoes 3 years ago. Since that time, I started a blog, got on Twitter and learned how to show more of myself on Facebook (gently, gently), and self-published two books (which I’d been writing and editing for years). Yes, many many of my friends bought them (embarrassing? a little), but also many many people who only knew me from my blog and Twitter and as friends of friends on FB, bought my books too. It’s quite a job. You are NOT retired now, you are a …. WRITER. Go for it!
P.S. Seumas is a wonderful role model…
LikeLike
Hi, so nice to meet you. Yes, Seumas is incredible. If I end up doing half as well as him I’ll be well pleased. I’ve been on Facebook quite a long time and have recently become a Twit (and you can take that any way you like!) and I’m finding it hard to get into. I like this better; I think I could become addicted to blogging – if only I can get my head around all the technical stuff. I love writing and I so enjoy living with my characters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, blogging is addicting. It is, after all, everything that we love – writing and connecting with readers. I’m not into Twitter either, though I try. Here’s to you …and your characters!
LikeLike
Thank you very much. Yes, I love writing, whatever it is! And meeting other writers is something I love too; you are all so interesting. I find it hard sometimes to realise that I can be part of such a community.
LikeLike
I’ve been retired for some time and my daughter encouraged me to start writing. I sometimes wrote long letters to friends. She helped me get a blog and I started writing for a flash fiction group, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields “Addicted to Purple.” I now also write flash fiction stories for Barbara W. Beacham’s “Monday’s Finish the Story.” I’m also working on a memoir. I’ve been writing for a couple years now. I want to start writing short stories for publication in literary magazines. That will be the next step. I would encourage you to try self-publishing. Many writers publish through professional publishers as well as getting into self-publishing. I subscribe to many writing blogs. Best of luck in whatever you do. I figured at my age I really had everything to gain and nothing to lose. I don’t care about my pride getting hurt. Many published authors have had problems getting published and they weathered it. Best of luck in whatever you attempt in future. I enjoy Seumas’ blog also. He’s a success in whatever he attempts, a real leader, and a great friend to have on the internet. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you Suzanne. I do have three self-published works already. Like you I enjoy writing. I did try to get a couple of magazines interested in a couple of short stories I wrote, to no avail. I realised that I’m not really cut out to write for magazines. Upon realising that I love writing books (although I have a friend who keeps trying to get me to write a lot more poetry) I decided, again like you, that I have nothing to lose by going for it and maybe a lot to gain. What I have gained and gaining still is the friendship of other writers which to me is wonderful. As for Seumas, well, I’m happy to follow wherever he might lead us! 🙂
LikeLike