Writer Relocated by Annmarie Miles
The Long & The Short of it by Annmarie Miles
Join me in as we welcome back Annmarie Miles this month as she shares her tips with us on “Writer Relocated.” Enjoy!
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Most months here on Writer’s Fun Zone I have tried to share a nugget of wisdom that I’ve picked up on my writing journey. Today, however, I want to ask you good readers to help me with something.
I mentioned last month that I would share a bit of news with you. Well the news is that I am leaving Ireland to return to the UK, where my husband is from and where we spent the first few years of married life. It was a big decision but we know it is the right one for us. We’re quite excited about the potential of a new start and are eager to get going now the decision has been made.
What I’m wrestling with at the moment is the question of starting over. I don’t have a huge profile here in Ireland, but I’ve worked hard to build both following and engagement on social media. I’ve also had the opportunity to read at some events and have done well in a couple of competitions.
In some ways I wonder if it really matters where we are. What difference does it make what country I’m sitting in when I tweet or respond to a Facebook comment? I’m an Irish writer; I’ll still be one no matter where I live. So what’s the problem?
I don’t know, is the short answer. I suppose losing my local involvement is something I’m concerned about. It’s great to have Twitter followers from across the globe, but last week I was reading at an event in my local library. There were only a dozen of us there, but face to face engagement with people who respond directly to the story is such a great experience. I will miss that. Although I must say that I’ve already made some arts contacts in the area we’re moving to. Thankfully the scene seems to be thriving there; I can’t wait to get involved.
In this technological age we could be in outer space and still be able to reach all our followers with a blog post. Maybe the ‘prophet in his own town’ thing is right. In Ireland I’m another Irish writer, in a sea of Irish writers. In another country I’ll be slightly different, not a local. A novelty even…? Maybe not. 🙂
Another thing on my mind is that, when I lived in the UK the last time, I wasn’t a writer. I had done a little bit of public speaking, and had written scripts for phone calls for work, but blogging and writing were not even on the horizon. So even though I’m going back to people who know me, I’m a different person to who I was before. I have different goals in life now, and writing has changed my mindset on many things. So not only will I have new people to connect with, there’ll be folk I know well that to some degree I will have to re-connect with.
Bottom line is, I’m nervous about it.
So I would love to hear from you guys out there.
Have any of you relocated and had to build your profile again?
Has it had an effect on your ‘following’?
Does it really matter in this day and age where we are when we write?
Please do let me know your thoughts, and share this with any ex-pat writers you might know.
Oh and if any of you have any spare boxes… 🙂
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Annmarie Miles, part time writer, full time believer is 40something, Irish, Christian, married, and proud to be all of those things. She loves words, music & chocolate! You can find out all about her and her book “The Long & The Short of It” at the new website:www.annmariemiles.com.
Where to find Annmarie:
Email: amowriting@gmail.com
Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/amowriting
Google+: auntyamo
Twitter: @amowriting
Personal Blog: www.auntyamo.com
Writing Blog: www.annmariemiles.com/blog
