I had such a good time visiting the Apple Valley branch of the California Writers Guild yesterday. What a great group of serious writers and friendly, receptive people. Enjoyable. And I sold out of the books I brought—always a plus.
Even after all of these years in this business, I still always learn something when I speak at events like this. One thing that occurred to me yesterday is how important face-to-face communication still is for humankind. Email, texting, FaceBook and even Twitter, are useful—in fact, valuable in business and personal interactions. But humans still need to touch, to see the meaning of an innuendo in someone’s eyes and to hear the inflection in one’s voice.
We can miss a lot in human communication when it is masked by technology—intention, nuances, gestures, body language, and emotion. Emoticons can provide only so much information. Most of it goes undetected unless you are standing in front of the individual with whom you are conversing, arguing with, laughing with, hugging, etc.
This is certainly nothing new. Remember when it was feared that the cell phone would make real-time, face-to-face communication obsolete—that our ability to converse in person would diminish because of technology?
And the reality of this fear is even more prevalent today. That’s why I am reminding you (and myself) to get out of that den of technology that you call a “writing room” or “office” occasionally and actually sit across from another person. Venture out and speak over the fence to a neighbor. Leave the house as a family without your communication devices and enjoy time together actually talking. Join a writers’ or authors’ group and attend meetings and events. Go out and talk to a group or an individual about your book.
Not only will this be healthy for your psyche, it will expand your horizons as a writer or author. And if you are promoting a book, meeting people in person will result in more book sales.
I sold more books in one two-hour period yesterday than I have sold in the last several weeks through other channels. And I’m pretty sure that my presence made a greater impact on members of the audience than if they had only read my blog, visited my website or followed me on Twitter.
The internet is a wonderful tool. But we also need to apply the personal touch to our business and personal interactions. Make this your goal for the coming week. And let me know how it goes.