The Tour

As a writer, I have to acknowledge the power of the written word. But as a human being, I have to acknowledge that the spoken word is equally, if not more, powerful.

Such a statement probably brings to mind images of orators from Martin Luther King Jr. to Billy Graham. But speaking in front of large crowds is not what I mean.

Words given, person to person, can often carry more weight than a printed story.

I've encountered this truth before, by words I've spoken and words I've received, and also by the absence of words when they would have been very valuable. I could point out several places and times when the power of a personal, spoken word carried extra power, but this is primarily a blog for writers, so I will choose once circumstance in particular.

I felt the power of spoken words every time I had a author signing for my first novel, The Pride of Central. I like to call these series of signings a "tour", though that is probably an exaggeration. No event so far has been farther away than thirty minutes from my front door. Still, I go around South Central PA to sell the book, yes, but also to meet my readers and hear their words.

A boost of confidence can come from selling a book, but what really gives me a high is when someone has an encouraging word for me when getting their copy. Being told that someone is impressed that I was able to finish a story - not just finished writing it but publishing it - gives a jolt to my sometimes shaky self-esteem.

But there is more to it than nursing an ego. When I had signing events, I was able to talk with readers - some I already knew, others were new faces - and find out things that we had in common. Though conversations often started with baseball and/or publishing, they sometimes continued to shared faith, attending the same school some years apart, or a mutual appreciation for Christopher Nolan movies. Seeing that I related to my readers on levels beyond my story made events a highlight. In fact, some of these conversations happened with people who opted not to buy the book. It was still an encouraging time to converse with non-readers about what common ground we did share.

These face-to-face conversations can also be the seeds for future writing ideas. Some of the people who saw my author table and opted not to buy the book explained that they simply did not read books where sports were the main focus. They only read history. Or biographies. Or manga.

Or...romance.

I was not even thinking of a second book at the time, but maybe a couple of those romance readers got in my head when I did decide to write The Jewelry of Grace. I will be promoting that novel this upcoming month with five signing events (and, hopefully, more in the future). And though I do have one more story in mind that takes place in the same literary "universe" as The Pride of Central and The Jewelry of Grace, maybe someone will inspire my next series of written words with the words they speak to me.

Next week: Inspired by...or stolen from?