Pretend You're Not Shy

I'm a shy person. If you know me personally, you may or may not believe it. If you're someone I know well, I will talk your ear off. I won't be afraid to be myself around you, or even make a fool of myself. It's easy to not seem shy on social media as well. We have a computer and no one can see us. So we can open up, say silly things, and if we regret it, delete it and hope not too many people saw it.

As a writer, I spend a lot of time alone. I don't talk about my writing much. If someone asks me about it who knows me, it depends on my mood. I might talk your ear off about it or I might just shrug and skim the topic. When I meet someone in person whose read my work and they tell me, I never know how to react. 

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GIFSoup

This past weekend, I had a local book signing. It was a lot of fun. This was my first one out of my comfort zone. Typically I know someone at them well enough to buddy up with them. That person is usually Ella Jade. We've always clung to one another. At least for me, having her there with me gave me that extra boost of confidence. She could talk when I felt like being silent, and such. Not this time, I was all by myself, wandering around aimlessly, looking at the author names for the ones I found familiar, then hoping I might be familiar to them! 

"Hi, I'm Lacey Wolfe." 

I had to say this often, and it led into conversations. Before long, it wasn't so bad. I quickly learned a lot of these other authors were in the same boat as me. They are out of their realms as well. Yes, we talked about how nervous we were to be here and have to talk about ourselves. If only we could all have say with out laptops and Facebook chatted each other. Instead, we had to be face to face.

This event had a good reader turn out. As the readers came in to see what books were up for grabs, I watched the other authors. Some were super outgoing, calling out to them, waving, and bringing them over to their table. Some sat back and just waited. I smiled and said hi as people walked by, some stopping to talk to me about my books. A few people engaged with me for quite a bit! My inner self squealed but then also wondered if my answers were stupid.

All in all, I think it went well. As time went by, I found myself feeling a little more comfortable. I tried to push that shy girl away for a little bit, though I wasn't successful fully. I wasn't the only one at least, I was in a room with a room fill of people who probably were experiencing just a little bit of what I was in one way or another.

Now I'm home, back to my comfort zone. Go ahead and give me a call on the phone, I'll chat your ear off. Hopefully with each new event, I'll tear away at that shy girl.

-Lacey