I have the best intentions. I often receive emails that are going to require more thought and time than I have at that moment, and I don't answer immediately because I want to come back later and address it when I have time to give that email the required attention.
And then it falls off my radar. It's on my desktop waiting, but I forget about it anyway.
I truly need to respond to such emails immediately, even when I'm afraid the real answer will offend someone, the real answer being, "I'm terribly sorry but to respond to this properly would take more time and energy than I currently have. I suggest you google this subject and start there for your answers."
I want to help people. I don't want to blow them off. And yet, I end up doing just that, blowing them off by not answering.
That said, when I was asked a question by a former student, 'What’s the best way to get your foot in the door in the field of writing?' I had no easy answer, no fast answer. As a former student, he may have missed the class where we talked about that, but the answer right now is, who knows? Self-publishing is easier and easier all the time, but will you get noticed in the thousands of self-published books? What will make you feel successful? Selling a few to family and friends and having some nice reviews on Amazon? Selling a few dozen? A hundred? Or hitting a best seller list?
There are so many answers to 'getting your foot in the door' and they are usually found in the sidebar on this page, links to articles on that subject. Sometimes I've linked to articles in previous entries that would answer your question.
Beyond that, I'm sorry I don't have any easy answers, or even complex answers, at my fingertips, nor do I have the time to dig out answers beyond what I give in class.
The issue I feel most compelled to address right now is, in the most self-centered of wanting-to-be-helpful ways, how to respond to questions from people who have no idea they have asked a complex question that has no easy answer without angering them, instead of shoving it aside to deal with later and losing it.
Suggestions, anyone?
And then it falls off my radar. It's on my desktop waiting, but I forget about it anyway.
I truly need to respond to such emails immediately, even when I'm afraid the real answer will offend someone, the real answer being, "I'm terribly sorry but to respond to this properly would take more time and energy than I currently have. I suggest you google this subject and start there for your answers."
I want to help people. I don't want to blow them off. And yet, I end up doing just that, blowing them off by not answering.
That said, when I was asked a question by a former student, 'What’s the best way to get your foot in the door in the field of writing?' I had no easy answer, no fast answer. As a former student, he may have missed the class where we talked about that, but the answer right now is, who knows? Self-publishing is easier and easier all the time, but will you get noticed in the thousands of self-published books? What will make you feel successful? Selling a few to family and friends and having some nice reviews on Amazon? Selling a few dozen? A hundred? Or hitting a best seller list?
There are so many answers to 'getting your foot in the door' and they are usually found in the sidebar on this page, links to articles on that subject. Sometimes I've linked to articles in previous entries that would answer your question.
Beyond that, I'm sorry I don't have any easy answers, or even complex answers, at my fingertips, nor do I have the time to dig out answers beyond what I give in class.
The issue I feel most compelled to address right now is, in the most self-centered of wanting-to-be-helpful ways, how to respond to questions from people who have no idea they have asked a complex question that has no easy answer without angering them, instead of shoving it aside to deal with later and losing it.
Suggestions, anyone?
2 comments:
I struggle with this as well. I'm naturally a very helpful person - in fact, my identity is really tied up in that - and it distresses me to realize that I've dropped a ball like this.
Yet the pressures of writing, family, home, the job that pays the bills, and the myriad other things that fill my days mean there are more and more dropped balls. More and more regrets.
I can't offer a solution, just commiseration.
Since you're one of the most generous people I know, your commiseration is most appreciated! I'll definitely be working on this problem.
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