Call for action!

Photo by Daehyun Park, used by CC license

Ahem.

Tap, tap, tap. 

Is this thing on?

I'm dipping my toes into the self-promotion stream and let me tell you, the water is freezing cold!  I'm an intensely private person and while I would like to think that I'm fairly self-confident, the truth is I'm often a bundle of insecurities.

But, like it or not, if I'm going to have any success as an author, I need to put myself and my work out there.  I've certainly embraced social media with this blog, FB, twitter, and Google+.  I've worked hard to keep the emphasis on the *social* part of the social media, making connections and contributing to conversations.  I'm certainly not a 'me, me, look at me' kind of person and I hope I will never use the internet as a platform for annoying anyone. 

I do, however, want to make a successful living at this writing business.  And that takes reaching out to a tribe of interested readers.  So here's my thinking:

I've written a dozen or so short stories over the past few years.  I've made some half-hearted attempts at submitting them to paying venues, but have never really made the full commitment to getting them published that some of my crit buddies have done.  My focus is on my novels.  I write short stories and poetry because some ideas and images are best suited to more compact forms.

I'd love to have my short stories find homes in the hearts of readers.  Along the way, I'd like to build a community of supporters who want to read what I want to write. 

If you are a reader, if you are passionate about the power of stories, then I want you in my tribe.  If you sign up for my mailing list (also conveniently first on the sidebar right over there --->), I will send you a short story.  If you hate it, you can unsubscribe.  No harm, no foul.  If you like what you read, let me know.  At semi-regular intervals, I'll send out other stories.  No charge, no obligation, no DRM.  You will be free to share the stories with others, though I would ask that you don't change them or omit my contact information.

Sound reasonable?

I look forward to sending you a story.