I’m a relatively private person, and a relatively difficult person to get to know. Add to that the fact that the past week or so has seen me thrown into a few situations where I’ve needed to talk to people I’ve either not seen in 5 years or never met at all. So guess what gets the conversational ball rolling…the fact that I’ve published a book! Nevermind that very few of these people can claim much knowledge of ‘my little hobby’ beyond that one truth–it didn’t stop them from inquiring,
“So, how’s the writing going?”
which segued into:
“When are you going to publish another book?”
There’s not really a simple answer for those questions. Unless of course I just rock back on my heels and answer, “Good, good.” or “Soon, soon.” This never satisfies anyone. So I start in on my spiel, about how I published the first one by myself (not through a vanity press, which I don’t think anyone really gets, but ALL BY MYSELF), and how I’m not sure I want to go through all that again. And how it’s a tough time in publishing right now and even when it’s not a tough time you have to find the perfect agent/editor and still have luck on your side. Nope. Even when I try to sum all this up before their eyes glaze over, they still end the conversation nodding incomprehensively, clearly wishing they’d never asked.
At a birthday party my boys recently attended, the hostess’ stepdad (who’d worked for a small press) discovered I’d published a book and promptly sat me down to inform me what I needed to do to get it right the next time. Aye aye aye! (That spelling seems way wrong, but I looked it up!) I couldn’t get away fast enough.
This has all taught me that I need to come up with a go-to list of small talk starters before the next family reunion. (And I need to avoid all know-it-all stepdads). Or I could just get on with it and get that second book out there!
