Kathi Macias here, checking in to let you know why I missed you last week. Following the (very successful and enjoyable!) AWSA conference/ICRS convention in Orlando, during which I received the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA and learned my newest book, BEYOND ME, was named "top pick" in the Christian Living category by Christian Retailing magazine, my husband and I drove down to the Keys for a couple days of much-needed R&R. While there, we had quite an interesting experience....
First, we realized that sometimes things are further away than they seem--a lesson we writers experience far too often! We knew the Keys were just below Miami, so when we made it through that metropolis, we thought we were almost there. Wrong--unless we had planned to stop at Key Largo, the first Key in the chain. But, of course, we figured if we'd come that far we might as well go to the end, so we did--all the way to Key West, just 90 miles from Cuba! And we were glad we did. It was absolutely beautiful there, and worth the extra three hours of drive time.
Isn't that often the case for authors? We invest a lot of time (and money!) in promoting/marketing/networking, only to see nothing happen--at least not right away. But sometimes, down the line, that investment pays off when we least expect it. I, for one, have had that experience countless times.
The other interesting tip I snagged while in Key West was the importance of being the unique human being God created you to be, rather than trying to clone yourself after an admired/successful author. Ernest Hemingway spent a few years in Key West, and his home is now a museum. (My husband asked if I thought ours would ever become one, and I'm still laughing over that!) In fact, Hemingway's name is so revered there that periodically they have a "Hemingway look-alike" contest--and this year it happened to be the day we were browsing around in the old part of town near Hemingway's home. As a result, we saw scores of look-alikes roaming the streets, chubby guys with gray hair and beards, many in Hemingway-type clothes. It was a fun experience--for us as well as the contest participants, I'm sure--but did that make any of those participants (even the winner) successful writers? Absolutely not! It simply made them successful imitators. And imitation--even cleverly done--is not going to establish us in the publishing world.
If I have one main point to emphasize to writers from our visit to the Keys, it's this: Spend some time asking God to do your branding! That word has been tossed around CBA for years now, and everyone--particularly new writers--is nearly frantic over trying to identify and establish his or her brand. My concern with that is that we will get sidetracked by looking at those already successful writers whom we rightfully admire and then try to "brand" ourselves accordingly--in effect, becoming Hemingway look-alikes. Instead, why not spend as much time as necessary listening for God's direction in our writing and trust that He, the One who has called and gifted us to fulfill this exciting writing ministry, will establish His own brand? Something tells me we'll be glad we did.