May 4th, 2008 | by KateDouglas |
It seems to be a common theme among authors, this sense of being overwhelmed by deadlines and projects and life in general, and that’s exactly how I was feeling today when we pulled into the driveway after a whirlwind visit to see our four grandkids. They aren’t always together, since our son and his family live in Hawaii, but Jon, Mel and Ella were here in California for a brief visit and my husband and I spent the weekend being grandparents with four amazing kids age six and under.
I have an amazing respect for our daughter, who claims three of them and who was also babysitting the fourth. She does it with such amazing aplomb that I asked her what kind of drugs she used…she just laughed and kept right on doing what young mothers do—being a mom.
Anyway, I’m getting off track here—something I do a lot! I got home exhausted, helped hubby unload the RV, carried stuff into the house, put in a load of laundry, watered some plants and started fixing dinner. I was feeling sort of blue because I never feel like I get enough time with the babies, when I came upstairs to check my email.
Went through a gazillion messages and then came to an absolutely wonderful note from a reader, telling me how much she enjoyed my books. And I will admit it, my depression was gone, my energy was back and that sense of always playing catch-up sort of faded away.
Oh, it’ll be back tomorrow, but for one brief moment, all was right with my world because a reader took the time to send me that very thoughtful note. I freely admit that I save all my mail from readers. They’re the proof I often need, a reminder that there is more to writing than just the creation of a story for my own enjoyment or to meet a deadline or make my editor happy. Ultimately, the reason we write is for our readers.
That’s probably why it’s so meaningful when they take the time to write to us. So that’s my question—authors, do you ever write fan mail when you read a book that really moves you? And readers, do you ever take the time to send a note to an author? I’m going to make a point to do it more often. Today’s note was a reminder just how important that very personal connection can be. Maybe I’m just needier than most, but it sure made my day!
