Writers Are Naive

Image by onkel_wart via Flickr

Well, maybe I should speak for myself, but I only mean it in the kindest way. Or do I?

We have to have a sense of naiveté to push us through writing, both a sense of wonder and human vulnerability and compassion. We have to be authentic, genuine, "without artifice". We are constantly taking leaps of faith.

Maybe that's why the publishing industry has me pulling my hair, because so much is artificial. There is so much to weed through. I don't want to just build an audience - I want to build a community. I want to interact with readers and writers, with other folks who want to transform and transcend through the power of creative expression, or by sharing a world with an author. It's an intimate relationship, between reader and author, isn't it? Whether we love a book or not, we co-create with the author. We bring ourselves to the table.

There are so many places I want to go to, and someday, I hope to have the means to have a live tour, with real hugs instead of virtual ones.

I took a leap of faith with Twitter today, by starting to engage in chats with other ya authors on yalitchat. It was fun, until people started joking about sex parties and drinking. I jumped in and said that my book was about recovery from all of that, and that pretty much stopped the conversation. Did I open mouth and insert foot? Feeling a little insecure, and yes, naive!

But I won't stop taking leaps and trying to learn!

I have signed up to do free Skype visits with teachers/ librarians/ book clubs this spring who have read Edges. You can find out more about it here! I am very excited to interact in this way with people.