her·mit  (hûrmt)  n.

1. A person who has withdrawn from society and lives a solitary existence; a recluse.

 

 

So, I’ve discovered I’m a hermit. This is no big surprise. I’ve always been a lone writer. Even though I enjoy working together on a variety of other types of projects,  I generally don’t play well with others when it comes to collaborating on paper.

What did surprise me was this. At a recent event, I was very comfortable talking to others about every subject… except my book. Which is a little odd. I know this book. Inside and out. We’ve spent a great deal of time together. Several drafts, numerous rewrites. But here’s the deal.  Through it all, I really didn’t talk to anyone about it. For those who have read Stephen King’s On Writing, you’ll understand. I side with the camp that loses creative steam when I discuss elements of a writing project. I’m best left to stew alone until I’ve managed to throw it all on the page… and have worked it over it a few dozen times.

Then we can talk about the book.

But not before. Not until the book is done. In fact, other than knowing my book dealt with a detective and took place in Chicago, no one close to me really knew what the thing was about until the last words were on the page and it had been rewritten a few times. Talking about it seemed dangerously counter-productive. The story needed to be told. But if it was verbally told to a single person, the need to write it down slipped away. Not every writer is like this and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good writer if this is your process. In fact, there are quite a few drawbacks. Rewriting tends to be a kind of self-imposed hell where bad ideas may take weeks or months to show themselves. Layers of character that should be added are oddly ignored because the focus is elsewhere on something deemed “more important.”  Which is generally wrong. But that’s my process. That’s how I get words on a page. Alone.

On more than one occasion, people have asked if being part of a writers’ group was useful. I openly confessed that I have never been part of one. However, a good group is a wonderful tool for many writers… just not every writer. Keep this in mind. If you’re talking about writing more than writing or if you lose steam after your group has read your first chapter, go to your room for a while and sort things out. If pages fly out of you when you’re locked away, you might just be a hermit, too.

And interestingly enough, there are hermit readers as well. Those who don’t like to talk about a book until they’re done reading it. I completely understand these readers. I’m one of them. A book is a very intimate thing… whether you’re reading or writing it. Some of us like our privacy.

But for writers, as I discovered, marketing your book is where the privacy has to end.  If you’re a writing hermit, you might cling to the same privacy that helped you complete the book you’re now trying to get readers to pick up. That’s the odd by-product of hermit writing. An inability to verbally pitch your product. For some reason, deep in our writers’ brains, we still feel like we can’t talk about the book to someone who hasn’t read it. Oddly, I don’t have a problem talking about my novel in book clubs… after they’ve finished it. In fact,  I love discussing their interpretations of characters and plot points, settings and twists. It’s fascinating and fun and rewarding… and easy. I can talk about character, research, plot, difficulties in the process, elements of publishing… you name it. Not a problem. However, ask me to pitch my book to someone who hasn’t read it  and I am literally tongue-tied.

Our system for creating the piece gets in the way of our ability to sell our creation. So what does that mean? If you’re a writer, have something prepared and memorized. Yeah, it feels a little fake, but it serves the purpose and you’ll get used to it… and better at it. Use your cover blurb or your synopsis. Or that great tagline you spent hours crafting. And if you’re a reader, don’t judge a writer by his or her ability to explain his or her book to you. Pick up the book. Read it. Hermits can produce some pretty amazing stuff.

So what kind of writer are you? What kind of reader? I’d love to hear.