Carrying on with calm – another book event under my belt

The month of September was not lacking when it came to how busy life can get in a single month.  My head is spinning a little when I look back at the past 30 days. When it comes to my personal life, my day job and my writing, there has been a lot going on lately!

While the days are busy, much of my attention has involved making changes so that I can more effectively focus on my writing career. That includes getting myself back out there as an author. The first part of September I attended a writer’s conference – a much-needed day out to mix and mingle with other like minds and to meet and learn from seasoned and bestselling authors. And then a few days ago I had my first book signing in…quite some time, now that I recall the last book club meeting I attended as a guest speaker.    

I had at first only called this most recent event an author meet and greet. My expectation was that maybe only a handful of the attendees would have heard about me or even read any of my books beforehand. The exposure, as well as the practice of speaking in front of a group, can only be a good thing, so I was more than willing to take part when one of the residents wanted to schedule an event so that other residents of the community could meet me.

I should have been more nervous before arriving but, honestly, I didn’t have much time to think about it because I had worked at the office that morning, taken a long lunch to attend the Celebration of Life for my great uncle who had passed away a few months ago, and then spent a few more hours at work before heading to the venue.

When I arrived and entered the room where the event was to take place, I barely had time to prepare myself because the room was already full of people! Apparently there was a snafu with the time and many of those who were present thought the event was set to begin a half hour earlier than the agreed upon time, so that when I arrived to get set up, they were all waiting for me to begin.

This is where my lessons in life come in handy. I just had to go with the flow…you know the saying: keep calm and carry on.

Since two different times may have been posted and there were others who were still likely to arrive, the host asked me to hold off until our agreed time, just in case. My husband was with me and he took it upon himself to entertain the early attendees with stories and humor about the two of us and his perspective as the husband of an author. I wasn’t able to listen to all of what he said, but based on the amount of laughter I heard, I could tell he was doing a fantastic job.

When the time came to begin the event, and even more attendees had arrived, I was humbled by the number who had come to meet and hear from me. My husband told me that there were close to 40 attendees present, which is a terrific turnout for someone who is still at the beginning stages of getting their name out there. I shared with the group my journey as a writer and while I couldn’t recall now exactly what I covered during that hour, I pretty much spoke from the heart. I had a great time and afterwards, as I met some of the attendees on an individual basis, I felt good about the fact that they appeared to have enjoyed themselves as well.

With another book event under my belt, and the number of chances I was given that entire day to lose focus or falter, I feel great about the fact that I was able to keep calm and carry on. I’m still learning as I go, but what’s great is that I’m paying attention and able to make use of what I’m learning.  J

Until next time, carry on and have a great week!