Learning to celebrate my work is an important part of my development as a writer. Nobody likes the braggart. But there are times when it is right to celebrate your work with others.
Interestingly, boasting is frowned upon in women and may lead to poor performance reviews. Leslie K. John, writing for the Harvard Business Review, notes that women are often penalized for it in performance reviews. Perhaps this is why Sisters in Crime took the matter in hand with their Blatant Self Promotion for Shameless Hussies, a handbook of useful information about how to promote. It is the name of the game now in publishing, whether you go with a top tier publisher or with a small independent publisher. A great deal of work has to be done by an author to get the word out about her books.
Self-promotion doesn’t come easily for me. I love writing and I am proud of my work. Sometimes you have to stop and yell “Doodlie, doodlie, dooo!” (I’m borrowing from Ruth Krauss, A Hole Is To Dig, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. If you haven’t read it, stop and do it right now.)
I’m more inclined to quietly celebrate–“Doodlie doos” and all. It is an important part of the writer’s life to balance the rejections that come as you are searching for support for your work. When the great moments come, they are worth marking inwardly, but if you are a writer, you have to make them known to potential readers, too.
A "Doodlie, doodlie, do0o!" Moment
When this review came in from Kirkus Reviews I was over the moon. It was a “Doodlie, doodlie, dooo!” moment that I’m excited to share. Here are some excerpts:
A young girl’s pioneering trek to the American West is interrupted by danger, tragedy, and a magical quest in the first book in Schoonmaker’s Last Crystal trilogy for middle schoolers.
The author is a former professor and elementary school teacher, but this is no textbook adventure. Nor is it Little House on the Prairie redux.
A well-crafted mix of fact and fantasy filled with surprises and grounded in history and real-world dilemmas.
You can find Kirkus Reviews of all the books in The Last Crystal Trilogy on my Kirkus Author Page. I’m happy to say that all three are worth shouting about. Learning to Celebrate My Work and BSP hasn’t come easily. But I’m learning.
One Response
I couldn’t put the first book down and ended up reading the entire trilogy with my students.