Regardless how famous an artist is, they started as an unknown. It took writing several REALLY GOOD if not GREAT stories to gain traction. Then and only then did the public want to know who the author is.

The public wants the picture and the story first and foremost. Only if they are attracted to it do they maybe want to know about the artist. Artists often grow so wrapped up in their work that they forget it isn’t about them. It isn’t about their struggle in traditional versus self-publishing. It isn’t about the research or how long it took to write the story. It isn’t about the hours put in or the doors slammed in their face.

It’s about the subsequent final creation, and people liking that creation. That’s the ultimate priority.

Writers, especially new ones, need to stop shouting ME, ME, ME.

AVOID: I’m an author who wrote this story.
INSTEAD: (Insert title) about (insert one liner) is available at (fill in the blank).

AVOID: My book is on sale.
INSTEAD: (Insert title) about (insert one liner) is available at (fill in the blank).

AVOID: I’m tired of people not appreciating how hard it took to write this book.
INSTEAD: (Insert title) about (insert one liner) is available at (fill in the blank).

Get the idea?

When I read a good story, I like being ensconced in the tale. So do most readers. I do not want to know the pieces of its creative history unless it’s a novel like Where the Crawdads Sing and I want to know what the heck catapulted it to the top of a bestseller list before buying it. Any other background gets in the way of what you want the public to know . . . that this is a good story.

Knowing about an author’s struggles with getting published do not matter to readers, and frankly, can impede a reader’s ability to sink into a wonderful story. To me, knowing that the author of Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens, is wanted for questioning about a murder that occurred in her past, gives me pause about seeing the movie.

Yes, I realize I repeated STORY over and over. That’s because that’s what this journey is about. Your story has to pave the way. You just follow, giving it and its sisters more fuel to keep going. Make it a lot less about you.