{"id":24268,"date":"2021-06-18T03:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=24268"},"modified":"2021-06-15T19:09:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T02:09:32","slug":"wordsmith-at-60-by-keri-kruspe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/18\/wordsmith-at-60-by-keri-kruspe\/","title":{"rendered":"Wordsmith at 60 by Keri Kruspe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wordsmith<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Keri Kruspe<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cWordsmith at 60.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDream On\u201d \u2013 Aerosmith, 1973 <\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Half my life’s in books, written pages<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>Live and learn from fools and from sages<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>You know it’s true, oh<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>All the things come back to you<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When you approach the latter part of your life<\/strong>, would you slow down?<\/span><\/p>\n

To back off from advancing in your current career or take on a new one?<\/span><\/p>\n

Or will you take the time to learn how to relax?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"rocking<\/a>Can you imagine yourself sitting on your front porch with a glass of your favorite beverage watching the world go by?<\/span><\/p>\n

No? Well, me neither.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard for me to believe I\u2019m in my early sixties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of years ago I took the plunge and started a new career as a published indie author at 59. I still have a full-time job at a local bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever since then<\/strong>, I\u2019ve been on a continual quest to better myself in my chosen field. But, a tiny part of me has become uneasy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d hoped to be a full-time author by now, which I\u2019m not. It doesn\u2019t help when I look around that most of the folks I watch on podcasts or read training material from are in their 30s or 40s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They have plenty of time to build up a following that will make their dreams come true.<\/strong> If I\u2019m lucky, I have maybe ten or twenty years to do the same thing. I\u2019m worried I started too late.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did I Start Too Late as a Wordsmith?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of those training sessions brought back my insecurities of the lack of time I have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During a podcast by<\/strong> <\/span>Reedsy featuring Nicholas Erik<\/span><\/a> titled, \u201cBook Marketing\u2014Use your existing skills to sell more books,\u201d he gave a 2-minute assignment. We had to ask one of our closest friends in an email for honest feedback on the question, \u201cWhat am I good at?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the clock ticked, they gave a couple of examples.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Someone might be good at social media while another might excel at analytical endeavors (i.e. advertising).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hmm<\/i><\/strong>, I suck at both things.<\/strong> I don\u2019t like social media and I don\u2019t have the patience to analyze anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not wanting to ask my hubby (he\u2019d only say I was bossy anyway), I asked a friend the next day to give me constructive criticism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She said I was not only a dependable person<\/strong>, but I was a forward thinker. Someone who planned things three or four steps ahead of what needed to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so how does that help me be a successful author?<\/span><\/p>\n

Wordsmith, Focus on Your Strengths\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cMore Than a Feeling\u201d \u2013 Boston, 1976 <\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

I <\/span><\/i>looked<\/span><\/i><\/a> out this <\/span><\/i>morning<\/span><\/i><\/a> and the sun was gone
\n<\/span><\/i>Turned on some <\/span><\/i>music<\/span><\/i><\/a> to <\/span><\/i>start<\/span><\/i><\/a> my day
\n<\/span><\/i>I lost <\/span><\/i>myself<\/span><\/i><\/a> in a <\/span><\/i>familiar<\/span><\/i><\/a> song
\n<\/span><\/i>I <\/span><\/i>closed<\/span><\/i><\/a> my eyes and I <\/span><\/i>slipped<\/span><\/i><\/a> away<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When I researched who my target marketing demographics were, I concluded it\u2019s mostly women between the ages of 30 to 45. Because of that, I felt it best to keep my age in the background.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not that I\u2019m ashamed or embarrassed about my age<\/strong>, but I didn\u2019t want to seem like an outlier. I never intended to mislead, just focus on what folks that age would appreciate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But listening to that podcast, an epiphany hit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that I had going for me <\/span>was <\/span><\/i>my age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jumping<\/a>To highlight what that meant,<\/strong> I wrote a small list of what my sixty plus years has given me:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n