What makes you unique? The ultimate question in life. And in
marketing. Because it's not enough to be good anymore, no. Now, we either have
to the BEST or WORST versions of ourselves 100% of the time.
Live up to those public expectations, amiright?
Blogs offering the perfect advice for a perfect life or
career. YouTube videos one-upping each other on challenges of perfect stupidity.
Filtered Instagrams to let everyone know we are a perfect, unique snowflake.
Just like everyone else.
Ugh.
I literally can’t stand it. The way people act to get
attention. The way it seems a person has to
act just so they can sell – a book, movie, album, out, their soul. I hate that
it’s come to this point in history where writers have to pretend just to make
some sales.
Become extroverts. Be all bold and big. Film videos of
ourselves doing whatever furthers our message, like we aren’t more comfortable
behind the camera.
(Side note: Yes, I know some writers are all about
connecting with people, or, by some miracle of chance and luck, the opposite of
introverted, it’s just, the majority of my colleagues aren’t those people.)
Thing is, I'm not supposed to sit here on this blog and tell
you how much I loathe the market. Because when it comes down to it I don’t expect
to write a book then magically become this rich and famous person overnight
without trying at all.
I’m not that implanted in my fantasy world.
What I despise is what seems to be the only way to get stuff
seen for all the effort.
Or, rather, the way the market forces us to be either shiny,
happy, or straight up disaster in order for anyone to pay attention to what we
do. Especially considering I’ve decided to insert myself into the machine of
the modern world of entertainment production.
It’s like that quote from Practical Magic:
You can’t practice witchcraft while you look down your nose at it.
I know. Really, I do. And, it obviously doesn’t help to
lament the long lost days of writing a good book, landing an agent, publisher,
and having a career sprout from the effort.
But I want to wax
nostalgic about that life. Because I’m seriously struggling to fit into either
of the definitions of greatness in this new one.
<Insert whiny inflection of a pouty teenager who
coulda/woulda/shoulda, here>
I want to figure out how to get my stuff seen by a wider
audience, but I refuse to become what I hate most just to do it. What do I mean?
I mean the five minutes of fame bitch who nobody remembers in a year. But,
damn, did she sure sell out everything during those five minutes!
I’m more about the slow burn.
Unfortunately, nobody else is these days which leaves me in
a slight jam.
People care about people who seemingly have it all. They
also care about train wrecks. But what about the rest of us?
The "good enough" people.
If you've been with me for a while over here you know I'm
not exactly shiny happy. One of my blog tags is "yeah I guess I am moderately
fucked up after all" for God's sake. But I'm not a train wreck of a person
either, hence, the 'moderately' in 'moderately fucked up'. My life is somewhat
together in many respects.
And I refuse to fake it either way. I refuse to act like I'm
totally perfect or totally jacked just to gain an audience. Some days are
great, some suck. That's life.
Which, admitting to, makes me the most average of humans. A
girl who fits in just enough to get by. And that sucks as a person with a
product to sell because, these days, you better be a hot mess or otherworldly
(or both) for anyone to talk about you and your shit.
How can we sell if nobody buys because they don't know who
we are? And that's when we come back to the hook.
The unique snowflake inside that makes us different. The
thing that sells your work by not even selling at all. The mystical alleged
thing these gurus of whatever-the-fuck seem to have in droves.
What is it, that thing that makes some people rise to the
forefront, makes them an authority? Special.
It's something I've thought about, more than I should have
to, over the past few years. Because my real profession is thinking about how
to market my work 24/7/365. How to make it stand out as unique in a mountain of
others.
And that's how we circle back to disdain for what drives the
market. And my lack of a hook. AKA: my inability to stand out enough to sell in
the market despite my constant banging on the door, unwavering dedication to
doing this fucking job.
And, breathe.
Because, I write cute stories about average people.
I'm not a politically, controversially, socially motivated
writer. The themes in my books all revolve around family, friends, lovers, and
how those relationships help shape the main character's world.
I like stories about everyday people who face obstacles in
love and career and, though they deal with challenges to get there, they
usually get there in the end. I'm all about writing the metaphorical pretty
pink bow.
HEA, bitch.
So, how is that supposed to stand out? When there's an ever
rising tide of words out there about Mr. Perfect or Ms. Train Wreck. It's tough
not to get discouraged, I can tell you that.
And, yet, I keep doing it. Writing. Releasing books.
Publishing words for the world to read. Whether 5 or 5 million read them, those
books are forever.
Maybe I'll never find the hook, land the whale so to speak.
Guess I'm just average. And that's good enough for me.
Because I’ll never fake it just to get where I want to go.
• • • • • • • • • • •
In addition to this drivel I also write books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more on my author page.
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