My wife, who believes in me, is sending me in February to the San Francisco Writer’s Conference. There I will attempt to find people who want to help me go from good to great. In order to do that, I’m preparing my elevator speech and my bio.
For those not familiar with the term, the “elevator speech” is the thing you’d say to someone you want to meet if you found yourself in an elevator with them. It has to be short, accurate and to-the-point because you only have a few seconds. Meeting agents and other highly set-upon people at a conference, you have, apparently, only a little time to make an impression
The road to self-promotion is a long and winding one. For a long time I worked on crafting a portrait which would represent me succintly to people that might want to read my work. I tried to encapsulate who I was and what I did by referencing other successful people - “A combination of Faulkner and Piers Anthony.”
I never really found my way through that method. So then I tried to create a moniker for myself, an identity that said something memorable that I could get behind. Two candidates: “Imaginary Rock Star” and “World’s Most Interesting Music Teacher,” never really got me anywhere.
In a heart-to-heart conversation with my wife, I began to come around to the idea that I should actually figure out who I am and what I write about. The funny thing is that it was fairly easy for me to articulate this in conversation with her, because I’ve been thinking about it for 40 years. But for whatever reason, when crafting my bio, it didn’t occur to me to share it.
Perhaps I found telling the truth made me feel too vulnerable. Perhaps I thought nobody would really be interested in the real me. Perhaps I just had to go all the way around the world before I could approach my home.
Now what was a trick, finding an identity that encapsulates everything I am and do, is not so difficult. I have a short bio that represents me. It’s not a “crafted image,” and it’s not a marketed boast, it’s just a distillation of who I actually am.
See what you think: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?id=1108 I’m sure there’s more to do. The message can be tightened somewhat.
Are you interested in this person? Are you compelled to read anything else? Do you have any ideas for improvement burning in your head?
Adam Cole is an educator, author and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Instructor living in Atlanta, GA, he is the author of numerous books, songs and video presentations. His weekly blog can be found at www.mymusicfriend.net