I recently learned that I was operating under a very dangerous assumption…
I had assumed… since I’ve been writing for a decade and a half now… that everyone even tangentially in my circle knew that I was a writer for hire.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Wow, so wrong.
This past month, my father passed away. As a part of celebrating his life and hosting his funeral, I had the chance to spend extra time chatting and catching up with relatives, family friends, and life-long acquaintances in my home community.
How up to date were they on my career? Well, one asked if I was still at a job I left 15 years ago!
There were a few who remembered that I wrote… like, for a newspaper or something, right?
And while some did know and understand, it was obvious that even though I feel like I talk about my writing life all the time, I’m not doing it often enough or clearly enough that the message sticks.
Why am I sharing this?
Well, we’re coming into a season of the year when there are holiday parties, friendly gatherings, and group festivities.
Someone will ask about your career.
Learn from my error — don’t gloss over your work or shift topics quickly.
Tell people what you do — and then tell them again!
Don’t assume that a solo mention… or what you told them last year… will be remembered.
Plus, as Suzanne Pledger explains in one of her articles for us this month (more on that below), while we worry about repeating ourselves, the reality is that in our noisy modern world, repetition is necessary for a message to stick.
Repetition builds familiarity… familiarity builds trust… and trust builds your business
So, never assume that people — even those closest to you — can remember what you do. Keep marketing, keep networking, and keep telling everyone that yes, you’re a writer!