How Do I Tell People I Wrote a Book?

Something about me: I’m an extremely private person. My students would laugh if they heard me say that, because I do this thing called “True Story Friday,” where on Fridays I tell true stories from my life. The thing is, these stories are curated. I prepare to share these specific stories, and I offer them as glimpses into who I am and what I’ve done. If you catch me off guard by asking a personal question, I will likely turn pink and not articulate myself very well. 

I’ve struggled throughout my life to make friends and connect with others. I’m very introverted. I am decent at making conversation and asking other people questions, but when it comes to letting people into my own mind, I definitely have walls up. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told I come across as “stand-offish.” But this is also what makes me an author. I believe it was John Green who said “Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it.”

That’s exactly how I feel. 

This is why I wrote my book: I wanted to tell a story. However, a huge part of it is now promoting it to the people in my life. I’ve been so proud of this accomplishment, but now that it’s out in the open, I feel shy. 

I’m not very good at social media, because I have too much to say. Instagram to me has always meant trying to find a single photograph that I can share along with the mile-long caption I could write. Twitter was always too limiting for me in the character count.

The truth is, I’ve kept the writing and publishing process of this book close to my chest. I keep most processes close to my chest, because I prefer to unveil my successes after the struggle. I like to demonstrate the end product without showing the ugliness and strife involved in the creation of it. I didn’t tell people we were building a house, but one day I posted that we had moved into our barndominium. It’s my “ta-da!” moment. 

Here’s my “ta-da!” moment for this: I wrote a book. It’s called Gray Area. It comes out this Fall. 

Ta-da!