January | 2015 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

I’m a little behind with this Tuesday Tip, but I have a good excuse: I was writing. And I happen to know that most of you who stop by here are writing, too. You tell your stories in whatever you write, from fiction to poetry to blog posts. And so here’s a call-for-submissions that’s perfect for you.

The HerStories Project is looking for your story for their HerStories Voices. And here’s what they had to say about it:

We’re thrilled to announce our latest HerStories Project addition: a new column called HerStories Voices. Here we’ll publish two essays per month. We’re looking for the kind of writing that moves us, amazes us, and makes us wish that we had written it ourselves. As always, we want to highlight the best of women’s voices and show the uniqueness and commonalities of women’s experiences.

You can get all the details about guidelines and submitting here, and I hope you’ll read them carefully and write your story. Because here’s the thing: I read your blogs, friends. I read your stories every day, and they make me laugh and smile and sigh and sometimes cry. You’ve been polishing this kind of writing, and your voice, nearly every time you send a post out into the world.

So write your story. Submit. I can’t wait to read ’em over at HerStories.

Because I come from a radio background of news and public service, I’m fine with talking to strangers.

(And trust me. There are a lot of strange people in the world. And before you think I’m being all judgey, I’m including myself in that category.)

So as a writer, I don’t have a problem getting up in front of strangers and talking about myself or a book that includes one of my stories. But I totally get that many writers struggle with this part of the writing business. And I expect many in the publishing business get it, too. But that doesn’t mean that writers will get a pass in that department.

It means that once you’re an author, you must be prepared to talk about your book. That’s the topic I addressed over at the Muffin today: “Talking About Your Book. You Can Do It!” So zip over there and give it a read for tips on getting comfortable talking to strangers.

‘Cause like I said–lots of strange people in the world. But hey, strange folks read. A lot. (Or so I’ve heard.)