If you aren’t a self pub author this may never have happened to you but…

I have been to a lot of author panels signings. Generally you sit there talking to the other authors, waiting for people and when they come, they want to talk to the hot author of the hour. It’s never me. I always assumed this had something to do with me. I’m not a big name. I don’t have enough books out. Of course people are here to see Bob who has 9700 books published and is about 400 light years ahead of me in the process.

Then I went to SiWC. Saturday night they had an author signing event. All the presenters who were authors had a table and you could get your stuff autographed. I usually don’t do that. (Occasionally I author crush and I will seek out that author if I can but never at a signing event. Buying them a drink in a bar is much more effective.) However, one of my friends taught my writing class while I was gone and refused to take money for it. So I bought her a book and went to get it author-graphed.

I come downstairs in the middle of the event hoping to miss the early rush and the late stragglers. I see this line. Long, long line. Wiggling through an adjacent ballroom. I grab a volunteer. “Is this the line for the signing?”

“This is Diana’s line. If you want to see anyone else, just go right in.”

huh. So I walk in. Enormous ballroom. Tables all along the outside and in rows down the middle. The room is practically empty except for the authors who are standing about talking to each other. These are reasonably mid-list authors. Big enough names to get flown to this conference, put up for the weekend, and paid a stipend. All they’re just milling about talking to each other while all the attendees line up to see Diana, the hot author of the hour.

It was a total “holy shit” moment.

At lunch the next day someone asked me what I thought the dividing line was in the author realm. Published or not? Trad versus indie? An amount of money made?

I think it’s this. You’re either the hot author of the hour or you’re just another published author seeking your fan base.

Speaking of which, Ostrich Mentality launched on Wednesday. Have you got your copy yet? Have you left a review? Have you joined my readers group on FB?