Good Grammar and Punctuation? Why Bother!

This came up in my own discussion on a newsgroup, and I decided to pursue it because it’s something I think authors don’t quite grasp. The old adage familiarity breeds contempt is too true when seeking fame as an author.

A lot of authors will blog away, offering full disclosure of themselves and their opinions, their vanities, their personal idiosyncrasies, to the world. Sometimes this works, but usually not well, except and unless that author has a keen sense of what to disclose and how much, PLUS such depth of personality and interests that there’s always more to learn, always surprises in store for the audience–like a good character in a series.

Publicists will school an author on what and how much to divulge when “venturing public”–book signings, readings, interviews. This handler versed in building a public image will drill that author on what they can and can’t do, what they can and can’t say, and how to avoid publicity disasters. They will also develop a mystique around that author, implying to the audience that there’s so much more beneath the surface.

Enter the independent author, completely unarmed and underfunded–the author who can’t afford to hire a publicist, who hasn’t a clue what to divulge and how much, and who will inadvertently think that it’s okay, even good, to show the world their underwear in the drawer and in the hamper, both.

Ah, no it’s not.

Most authors lead rather shallow lives. They have kids, husbands/wives/partners, a house in the suburbs, an ordinary car, and opinions about the world that mirror what they see on TV. In short, they don’t have a wide variety of experiences unique to them alone to mine to cultivate increasing intrigue. They like this or that–common likes and dislikes–and the only “unordinary” thing about them happens to be the fact that they finished a book, got it published, and are pursuing their dream of “being an author.” These “ordinary” authors–the majority–need to cloak their normalcy and ordinariness inside a patina of “special,” so it is especially them who shouldn’t display their every ordinary thought, their every ordinary pleasure and displeasure, in common view.

It comes down to this: If you’re someone who’s led an unordinary life, who’s got a vault filled to brimming with surprising anecdotes and experiences, then, by all means, share, but share judiciously in tiny, appetizing nibbles. If you’re not, then better to hedge your bets and work using suggestion rather than disclosure because mystery makes for interest, questions left unanswered attract the curious, stimulation is enhanced by denial, and forbidden fruit pursued. In short, build your public persona the way you would your very best novel.

Continue reading about A Word to Authors: Familiarity Breeds Contempt