How Do You Define Credibility and Legitimacy as an Author?

approved-29149_640I read an article recently where an author discussed the benefits of purchasing a review from Kirkus. He felt it lent credibility to his work. He claimed that there was no boost in sales from the paid review, so it did not help him connect with any new readers, but he thought it gave him credibility. Yes, credibility. Stay tuned, I have more; it’s been a busy month.

I attended a meeting a short while ago at a major library. The library management invited a group of local authors to participate in a think-tank and discuss how the library could connect with the self-publishing community. It was a really powerful meeting. Some of the authors were both self and traditionally published and I overhead a couple of them talk about how they felt legitimized by signing with an agent and being traditionally published. I heard the same comment when I taught a workshop recently. There were authors who felt they needed to be legitimized, and having an agent or publisher would deem it so. Continue reading “How Do You Define Credibility and Legitimacy as an Author?”

The Shame of Accomplishment

If you have just published your first novel, congratulations to you. For now, you can bask in the warm afterglow of having accomplished something you may have always wanted to do. Enjoy. You should probably stop reading this now.

There will come a time when you will look back on your first book with the shame of accomplishment. You will be sick of that book. You will be tired of talking about it, promoting it, reading from it, plugging it, writing about it, answering questions about it, even reading reviews of it. Continue reading “The Shame of Accomplishment”