Inspired By Author Judith McNaught
In response to Dancing Elephants prompt #7 of 52
Many years ago, in the mid 1990s, I was actively pursuing a publishing career, and trying to sell my first manuscript. At the time, one of the best ways to get ahead in the romance industry was to attend the yearly conference sponsored by the Romance Writers of America.
The first night of the conference was a giant book signing event, with the proceeds of all book sales (or some percentage of proceeds) going toward supporting literacy. All the big authors were there. And at the time, Judith McNaught was one of the biggest.
For those who don’t read romance, you may not recognize her name. But she was one of the first romance authors to receive a multi-million-dollar contract. She was one of the first romance authors to have a book on the NY Times bestseller list, as well as to appear in hardcover rather than paperback.
Like many successful authors, she had a personal assistant to take care of details at the conference, freeing her for the important tasks of networking with authors and editors, and talking with her legions of fans.
Don’t judge a person by their assistant
I happened to be nearby when one of the book fair organizers was complaining about the nightmare of working with McNaught’s assistant. Her demands were completely outrageous!
Unlike other luminaries of the time, such as Nora Roberts or Jude Deveraux, McNaught could not be positioned at a table with another author. She needed one of her own. The additional space on the table needed to be filled with two floral arrangements of a certain minimum size, one on either side of her.
There were many other demands, again completely unlike the other bestselling authors who were participating. There was grumbling among the group of volunteers. McNaught seemed like a real diva!
And then one of the older authors in the group burst out laughing.
She pointed to a woman wearing sweats, with her long blond hair gathered up in a messy ponytail. The woman was busy ripping open boxes with a box cutter, and stacking books on tables for authors to sign. She was extremely fast and efficient.
“That is Judith McNaught,” the older author said. “She’s spent the last two hours doing grunt work to get ready for the bookfair. Getting other authors ready.”
Use your platform for good
One of the reasons she was working so hard, in addition to simply being a good person, is that she strongly believed in the event's purpose. She’d been horrified to learn that 1 in 5 women in America was unable to read. And rather than simply being shocked and horrified, she’d set out to do what she could to fix that situation.
Her book, Perfect, contained a subplot about literacy. But she wasn’t satisfied with simply raising awareness. She asked her publisher to include a response card in the book that people could use to connect with their local literacy charities. Because of that card, thousands of her readers signed up to help tutor people to learn to read.
She continued to focus on this problem. Turning the book signing event into a charitable contribution toward literacy efforts raised thousands of dollars for literacy. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised.
Remember the people who are your readers
The reason for McNaught’s insistence on an individual table became clear at the book signing. It wasn’t because she was a diva who wanted special treatment. It was because she wanted to give her readers special treatment.
The authors who were seated in a long line, table after table, had pressure to keep their discussions with individual readers short. The line needed to keep moving. If they talked with a reader for too long, the other authors would be sitting with no one to talk to, while the line built up behind the block.
Meanwhile, the readers in line to talk to McNaught were only talking to her. So, she could talk to them for as long as she wanted. More importantly, she talked to them for as long as the readers wanted. (Her assistant would move people aside to “continue the conversation when Ms. McNaught has a lull” if they ran on for too long.)
She called them by name, and mentioned things they had said in a previous conversation with her. Her readers were left with the knowledge that they were important to her. They mattered. They mattered as people, as human beings, not as consumers of her product.
Conclusion
At the time I was inspired by Judith McNaught, I was still an unpublished author. I later went on to have over a dozen romances of my own published, and participated in many book signings and conferences over the years.
I tried my hardest to live up to the type of author Ms. McNaught showed me I could be. If I had a specific request, I always explained why I was asking, and how it would benefit either the organizers or the readers. I tried to remember people I had spoken to, and what we’d spoken about. (I’m terrible at remembering names, but I could remember stories — one woman became one of my most ardent supporters because I asked her if she’d ever found the missing cat she’d been worried about when I’d seen her the year before.)
Moreover, I always remember when I’m writing that my words have an impact. And it’s up to me to make sure that impact is a positive one. Can my words make the world a better place? Maybe, maybe not, but Judith McNaught inspired me to at least try.
This is a response to the prompt by Sharing Randomly:
I was also inspired by The Sturg who wrote about celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni. He is playful and kind, and recognizes the efforts of those around him.
Lola Rosario inspired me with her profile of Puerto Rican activist Don Pedro Albizu Campos. How many people study at Harvard Law, then take a job where they’re paid (if they’re lucky) in chickens, or maybe vegetables, simply because that’s the right thing to do?
I was also inspired by Neal Lemery, who was inspired by a child. This wasn’t a response to the prompt, but it was about the author’s inspiration.
Read all of my responses (so far) to the Dancing Elephants Press 52 weekly writing prompts:
