tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post7023735209286601825..comments2024-03-29T03:42:04.742-04:00Comments on Author, Jody Hedlund: When You Feel Like a NobodyJody Hedlundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424307540530719614noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-24185163922224178462011-10-07T17:40:13.306-04:002011-10-07T17:40:13.306-04:00Funny you blogged about this and I'm just read...Funny you blogged about this and I'm just reading this AFTER I posted a similar thought on m blog. I used the SAME word! Insignificant! Funny how we probably all feel that from time to time!Gina Conroyhttp://writerinterrupted.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-24951704931286259942011-10-05T13:43:22.083-04:002011-10-05T13:43:22.083-04:00My antidote to invisibility: Stay at the top of th...My antidote to invisibility: Stay at the top of the food chain. If I'm not presenting, I volunteer. People quickly seek out those "in the know." In addition to name recognition, you've played an essential role: if we stop offering to lend a hand to those struggling along behind us, the arts world will stop spinning and we'll all go flying off.Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-83468027981262595922011-10-04T21:18:02.257-04:002011-10-04T21:18:02.257-04:00LOVED this post. Your points are excellent. May Go...LOVED this post. Your points are excellent. May God grant us the ability to champion each other and each other's work, praying all the words that go out serve His purposes in the hearts of readers!<br /><br />I hate that invisible, "left behind" feeling in the big circle of writers, but (after a brief wallow in self-pity) it always brings me back around again to review whether I am right where God wants me at the moment. If I am, there's no better place to be. Maybe I've gotten away from the vision for the current work that's been given to me and that's what has allowed the "nobody" feeling in. "Without a vision, the people perish."Marilyn Yocumhttp://www.marilynyocum.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-46001023124224548892011-10-04T14:26:06.955-04:002011-10-04T14:26:06.955-04:00Huge congratulations on the new three book deal! ...Huge congratulations on the new three book deal! That's amazing.<br /><br />I always feel this way at conferences. I've only been to a couple of local one day events, but even still, it's a weird feeling. But you make excellent points about keeping it all in perspective.Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-5263853965780632072011-10-04T14:22:42.166-04:002011-10-04T14:22:42.166-04:00Great post Jody. We're all relatively well kno...Great post Jody. We're all relatively well known in certain circles but in-truth we're but a small fish in a much larger pond. I'm more startled when a random person does recognize me than that they don't. Writers are relatively unknown even JK Rowling isn't widely recognized in person. It's a case of your work and name speak more than you. Not necessarily a bad thing ;-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046515540256155412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-20415989982355154742011-10-04T06:55:55.765-04:002011-10-04T06:55:55.765-04:00Thanks Jody, this post (and the comments) have bee...Thanks Jody, this post (and the comments) have been helpful. I especially appreciate your advice to Nancy Sima about when to attend a writer's conference, as I had always wondered the same thing.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15634681223129304563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-52957687772216134772011-10-03T19:40:49.051-04:002011-10-03T19:40:49.051-04:00I so understand where you're coming from. In m...I so understand where you're coming from. In my own local writers' group, most of the people don't even realize I have a pretty big blog because they're not into the blogging thing.<br /><br />Then I have the opposite experience at other times when I go to a conference and random people come up to me and are like--"Are you Roni? I love your blog!" And I want to look behind me, like--wait, you know ME? Lol. It's an odd feeling. Awesome, but odd.<br /><br />But I think in the writer community especially, there are very few "celebrities." I've gone to RWA Nationals twice and have managed to sit next to people at dinners and such only to realize later that they were BIG DEAL authors, who I had a never heard of.<br /><br />So I think it's always good to remind ourselves when we start thinking "I'm kind of a big deal" that we aren't, lol.Roni Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02719679344024635326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-81584456496023491982011-10-03T17:09:26.282-04:002011-10-03T17:09:26.282-04:00When I do get noticed, it's usually for the wr...When I do get noticed, it's usually for the wrong reasons. ;) I've always been an outsider.Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05536293384635588296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-29693196631014308962011-10-03T16:54:23.428-04:002011-10-03T16:54:23.428-04:00Thanks Jody for writing back, I appreciate the adv...Thanks Jody for writing back, I appreciate the advice!!Nancy Simahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10044841836637287500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-23454106393345716522011-10-03T15:27:02.547-04:002011-10-03T15:27:02.547-04:00I am a nobody, and I'll honestly admit that. ...I am a nobody, and I'll honestly admit that. Not published. Engineering degree. Slow at writing. Making the standard beginning mistakes.<br /><br />Well, at least I thought I was. I started going to cons for the first time this year, and, well, a mid-list and best selling author both came up to me and told me they wished they could have talked to me more. I guess I asked a lot of good questions in the various panels I'd gone to. I'm not exactly a wallflower.<br /><br />That floored me. Then, a few cons later, people I'd not even met started using my name. Stuff like "to answer Roxanne's question" or "I agree with what Roxanne said."<br /><br />I also tend not to 'fangirl.' I suspect that puts one in the 'generic fan' category instead of the 'an interesting person' category. And I also talk about things other than writing.Roxanne Skellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16247960958291876302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-2917354761736962002011-10-03T14:41:37.305-04:002011-10-03T14:41:37.305-04:00I had a major case of this at my last writing conf...I had a major case of this at my last writing conference. It wasn't so much that I felt I was a nobody, but people were pulling out their English degrees right left and center and I was feeling like me and my puny little science degree didn't belong in the room. No one was doing it on purpose, but it was definitely the result for me. But I had to look at it the same way - I don't have a degree in English lit, so there are some technical things that I still need to learn as part of my journey. And that's okay. It's all part of the process of moving from a newbie to an experienced writer.Jen J. Dannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00817943866838270699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-50706245789407481472011-10-03T14:15:06.417-04:002011-10-03T14:15:06.417-04:00I was at the conference, and I did practically scr...I was at the conference, and I did practically scream your name. Jodie, as one of those still low on the totem pole, you made me feel comfortable. Thanks! <br /><br />I love writer's conferences. Each year I learn so much about the craft and make wonderful connection. But some years, like this one, I come home feeling like a bit of a hack. I want to be further along than I am, and I wonder what I'm doing wrong. The true is, I'm right were God wants me to be. I know He knows the best timing for my writing career but it's still hard to be in the waiting. <br /><br />Thanks for the wonderful post.Christina Suzann Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04035993641228090405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-5148951591265230332011-10-03T13:57:38.758-04:002011-10-03T13:57:38.758-04:00Well, let me tell you, if I had been at conference...Well, let me tell you, if I had been at conference I would've been screaming your name the instant I saw you and smothering you in hugs and maybe even throwing glitter over your head because - yeah - your books are amazing as are you! In fact, I'm making sure you're a well known name in my church, yes I am.<br /><br />Of course, you're probably glad I didn't come now, I sound a bit like a crazed fan.Jaime Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07768583469408522818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-926248487232129852011-10-03T13:48:53.392-04:002011-10-03T13:48:53.392-04:00You know, even as a published author, I feel like ...You know, even as a published author, I feel like I get lost. I'm always scrambling to keep up with my book with marketing. It's crazy! I know that isn't the kind of lost you're referring to. But I still look at other authors and sometimes I wonder why they will endorse other books, but not mine?<br /><br />I think it's never-ending, this comparing stuff. But one thing is for sure, it's damaging to a person to compare because we are all beautiful notes that belong to a HUGE symphony--not one is better than the other. <3<br /><br /><br /><br />Please <a href="http://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/2011/09/darkspell-launch-spookfesta.html" rel="nofollow">join</a> my Darskpell Launch Spookfesta October 31st!<br><br /><br>Elizabeth Muellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06028099814857743134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-32029518338181180762011-10-03T13:32:06.395-04:002011-10-03T13:32:06.395-04:00Nancy Sima asked: At what point do you think a wri...Nancy Sima asked: At what point do you think a writer should start attending writing conferences? Should they even be a thought before you're ready to start submittiting your work?<br /><br />My thoughts: Hi Nancy! I think if you asked a hundred different writers this question, you'd probably get a hundred different answers! But here's what I think. There's no rush. I personally didn't attend my first big writer's conference until I was agented and had a contract. I got along fine before that and wasn't left behind in anyway. They're incredibly expensive and the information you learn in workshops isn't anything you couldn't learn elsewhere (i.e. a fiction how-to book). <br /><br />If you're ready to start querying and nearing a publishable writing level, then it might be worth the investment to meet with agents and editors there. I know plenty of writers who got their big "writing break" at a conference as a result of meeting with an editor or agent. But again, I don't think the big conferences are necessary too early in a writer's career. The smaller local ones would probably suffice.Jody Hedlundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424307540530719614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-90287325619180389152011-10-03T13:31:43.377-04:002011-10-03T13:31:43.377-04:00Hi Jody! I'm not a writer, although I love wr...Hi Jody! I'm not a writer, although I love writing. And, even more so, I love reading. I recently discovered you and your book The Preacher's Wife. <br /><br />I knew nothing about you or the book when I found it among NookBooks that were available. (I still prefer an actual book to the ways technology can offer us books to read. But, the Nook was given to me as a gift and I was looking for some things to download and read while on a trip).<br /><br />All I had to go by was the brief book description I read. But, I was hooked shortly after starting to read. I slowly started to realize too that I was reading Christian fiction.<br /><br />As a Christian I'm often disappointed by a lot of Christian fiction. It usually glosses over difficult or messy aspects of the story. And, it usually comes off very fake to me.<br /><br />Your story was so different! Your writing conveyed the reality of your characters! And, I loved it!<br /><br />I immediately looked you up online to see what else you've written. I found that you have one other published book and one to come.<br /><br />Well, I can tell you that you have a new fan. And, let me encourage you to keep writing! We need fresh voices in Christian literature. You are just the type of voice we need.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14772596888093079960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-77974620235729198022011-10-03T13:16:50.342-04:002011-10-03T13:16:50.342-04:00Jody, I could relate to this post. I constantly re...Jody, I could relate to this post. I constantly remind myself to save all of the painful parts of my journey so that a newer writer who might need emotional support can be encouraged. <br /><br />A few big name authors have really stood out for me with their humbleness, generosity, and honesty--Lori Foster and Madeline Hunter.Jill Kemererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865493609868329393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-72482937765269828492011-10-03T13:10:53.539-04:002011-10-03T13:10:53.539-04:00Jody, this statement made me sad for you, "Un...Jody, this statement made me sad for you, "Unfortunately, I met more experienced authors at the conference who made me feel like a speck of dust. Some were too busy, too disinterested, too caught up in their own importance to have the time for younger authors like me."<br /><br />Like Naomi, my experience was the opposite of yours. I was blown away by the kindness of those further along the writing journey than I am. Many multi-published authors took time to talk with me, encourage me, and answer my questions. I think writers are some of the most generous people I've met, especially those I've met through ACFW.Keli Gwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236868298400593688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-68887782201843396472011-10-03T13:03:11.593-04:002011-10-03T13:03:11.593-04:00Jody, good stuff shared here today, and so much of...Jody, good stuff shared here today, and so much of it I've experienced, too. I think it reaches further than the writing life, though. I think the truth here is really what real life is about as well -- not forgetting where we came from, and that we are always going to be very small when compared to the One who brought us into being. Humility breeds love, acceptance, and other good things, in my opinion. I pray I might never lose sight of my place, even as I realize I'm living my dream. This is still nothing compared to the life that awaits. :)Roxane B. Salonenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01459456545891720716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-77893502037654035522011-10-03T12:56:35.362-04:002011-10-03T12:56:35.362-04:00Thanks for this post, Jody! This was my first conf...Thanks for this post, Jody! This was my first conference, and saying it was overwhelming was huge understatement. I guess I was surprised in an opposite way from you. So many wonderful, well published writers were kind and took time to talk with me. I was amazed! <br /><br />I'm still not sure if I'm looking forward to attending another one, though because of how overwhelming I found everything.Naomi Rawlingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02431203734855694561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-48336920274431475252011-10-03T12:35:10.396-04:002011-10-03T12:35:10.396-04:00I hope when I attend my next conference I can lear...I hope when I attend my next conference I can learn from those further ahead of me. I often feel like a wallflower in these writing situations. Always nice when someone makes the effort to make you feel welcome:)Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03925811510913201292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-84531987588911587462011-10-03T12:20:24.498-04:002011-10-03T12:20:24.498-04:00Beautiful post today, Jody! Thank you.Beautiful post today, Jody! Thank you.Valerie Gearyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17165554338889917253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-14004832767267278162011-10-03T12:08:58.912-04:002011-10-03T12:08:58.912-04:00I think this goes doubly for those who can't a...I think this goes doubly for those who can't attend conferences...it's a tough market, always has been, and it's harder now. I will keep writing what and when I can, and if I ever get to go to a conference, great. If not, it's not meant to be.Pattiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11246904837775307023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-73016549370413608522011-10-03T12:08:33.942-04:002011-10-03T12:08:33.942-04:00Absolutely fantastic advice! Very needed. Sometime...Absolutely fantastic advice! Very needed. Sometimes I do feel so young and unknown and inexperienced, but its all about what each writer wants for themselves and how hard they're willing to work for it, regardless of how they are treated by others. Thanks for the encouragement :)<br /><br /><a href="http://fromsarahwithjoy.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Sarah Allen<br />(my creative writing blog)</a>Sarah Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01185278849400551014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8539581256374625880.post-87870116600409754532011-10-03T12:03:56.437-04:002011-10-03T12:03:56.437-04:00I didn't know that so many HOT women attended ...I didn't know that so many HOT women attended writer's conferences... Yes, it would be nice to go to try and get noticed by an established agent. But--the women... ;^)LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538854359365988863noreply@blogger.com