Stepping Up to Bat – From the ACFW Conference

Friday, I taught a workshop on publicity here at ACFW. I prepared, I recited, I gathered stories and refused, absolutely refused, to be nervous about teaching.

I started to teach, and then it happened. I looked up at the eyes trained on me and froze. My thoughts scattered. I forgot the point I was making. Later, it happened again and I had to stop, smile, and just come out with it. "I'm sorry, I lost my point. I'm a little nervous here." Everyone laughed, and for me, the ice broke. I went on to express my passion for teaching them publicity, as I know it really does make a difference in book sales.

I wish I could say everything went perfectly smooth afterwards. It definitely got better, but the amount of information I wanted to communicate didn't translate necessarily the way I wanted it to.

Afterward, I felt tempted to cycle through all the things I meant to say, or wish I had stressed, or could have done better. I had to mentally give myself a shake and think differently. No, it may not have gone exactly the way I wanted, but I took a step in the right direction.

I recall how nervous I felt the first time I sent out my writing to be critiqued, and how hard it was for me to critique someone's work. I remember the first time I pitched my book, it didn't go that well, but by the time I went to the next conference, I was able to speak freely and without tripping over myself. Then, there was sending out the first proposal and manuscript. That was excruciating, but now I've dealt with agents and editors long enough not to even think much about it after I hit send.

I also recall my first days of learning publicity. I had to crawl before I could walk. I remember my hands were cold as I dialed the number for a small town newspaper—and like going up a high dive—the only way to figure out how to do this was to jump in. Now I could board a plane to New York and meet with national media without feeling as shaky as I did that first phone call.

So, in the end, I'm calling the class a success. Maybe not a success as we like to define it—I wowed them, left them inspired, and can't wait to hear the CD. But, it was one more step in the right direction. One more path taken on this journey. And who knows, maybe someone reading this will remember it the next time they step out of their comfort zone and have that icky feeling that too often follows.