[Writer Post] Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
This month will be a challenge for me. I won’t be anywhere near my “comfort zone” for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week – and it started with a less scary version of stepping out last weekend.
Comfort Zone “Yikes” is the temporary “responsible adult” job I ended up starting on Monday. It’s a month long assignment where I spend a good chunk of my day calling strangers on the telephone. It’s a recruiting gig, but so not me. I am not a phone person. I have no idea what may have happened to me as a kid to traumatize me so, but, yeah. HOWEVER, I need the job and the money, so I’m putting on my brave face, and being a pro and doing it–this aspect of the job was kinda “sprung” on me when I got here.
Lys Wiley-Childs, Me, and our Table
I much rather deal with comfort zone stepping out I did over the weekend. Lys Childs-Wiley and I took Yard Dog Press to Scarborough Renaissance Festival. This was a new and “non-traditional” venue for Yard Dog’s brand of strange SF, but it was worth the risk. We both have relationships with the cast and crew out there, so the front office was less inclined to come up with an outright “NO”.
The Romany Crew - and part of the reason Ivan the Bubba is the way it is. 😎
DISCLAIMER: Experiences with books signings WILL VARY–regardless of “traditional” or “non-traditional” venues. What works for one person, may not for another – and really, experiences can differ from event to another at the SAME venue.
LOVE this 10th Doctor. Made me want to Cosplay Donna Noble. I can pull her off.
Moving on, this ended up being a good event for us. Not only were the people receptive (and there were hundreds of people to talk to), but for creative types like me, I came away with three very different plot bunnies, the desire to finish a partially completed story (because I was able to see the cast member I named characters after. So it was productive as well as profitable. We sold books. We talked to people. We played with highly creative individuals.
One of my favorite players -- ONE... that happened to get a picture of. I must finish that story.
Now an event like this is not for the “faint of heart”. We spent 2 days outside in heat, humidity, and dust in pseudo-period costuming–with a “day” being before 10 am (set up and parking issues) and not ending until 7 pm. That’s a big investment to some–many. It’s much like doing a table at a convention, but with weather and with patrons with greater access to alcohol.
Scarborough has the BEST Royalty. We loved hanging with the Royals, even though I claim the Scottish court as my own.
I would do this again in a heartbeat given the chance because readers are readers no matter where you find them–and many time YOU have to find THEM. They don’t always just magically appear–and not everyone who reads SF goes to conventions (I didn’t discover them until adulthood), and more than SF fans go to Renaissance Festivals (but they’re open to it). Nor am I saying all SF authors should hit the Ren Faire circuit, it’s not for everyone–and there are rules to abide. My point is to not discount an opportunity because it’s outside your comfort zone. That step out may open even more doors.