The past few months have been an intense period of self-reflection. World events force people to have an opinion on something that takes the brain a while to fully understand. It makes one question their values. Personally, I am left with a few realizations about my career and the type of author I want to be to my readers.

Here are a few qualities I hope to have and why they are important.

Accountability 

This new era of cancel culture brings companies and celebrities in the public eye to task when it comes to what they post on their social media accounts.  

A good example of this is the St. Martin’s Press boycott by book influencers on Instagram and TikTok. Book influencers have come to an agreement that they will not post about books from St. Martin’s Press or its affiliates until the company addresses the harmful posts by one of their employees in October of last year. All people are asking for is an apology. 

Issuing an apology is not that hard to do. Delete the posts, say sorry for the offense, and educate yourself on how to avoid similar situations in the future. As an author I want to use my platform to speak about issues that are important. Writers are people too, but it hurts when someone doesn’t stand behind a message that means so much to their audience. 

Accessibility 

An amazing facet of Taylor Swift’s brand is that everything she does feels like hanging out with friends. Someone is going through a bad break up? Let’s spend time talking about all of the ridiculous things the ex did together. The Eras Tour is basically a giant hangout session with her fans. 

Some of my favorite things to learn about authors are their favorite books, snacks ,or television shows because they seem more real to me if I find out they like to eat Doritos. I want to be the kind of author where it feels like all of my readers and I are talking about their favorite book. It can be difficult to do that and maintain privacy. I want my fans to feel transported into the setting of the story. They can take a mini vacation to a different world for a little while. Relaxing is a lot easier when magic exists.

Anticipation 

My favorite part of a new release are the theories and excitement surrounding a release.What’s going to happen to the characters? Will they all survive until the end of the book. The author posts an excerpt on Instagram. What does it mean? I can’t wait to be in discussion groups for my stories so I can feel the excitement and emotions my books bring to others.

The past few months have not only made me reevaluate my values, but realize what kind of author I aspire to be for my future readers. Writers are people too, and should be able to take correction with humility. We aren’t above anyone else, and can help others by showing our humanity. Feel the power of words that spark emotions into others. Shoulder that responsibility and help guide people through this  experiment called life.