Last night, a story appeared on the front page of our local newspaper in the Neighbors section. Once a week, someone in our town of 52,000 people is featured, and this week it was me. A reporter contacted me a couple of weeks ago after she received a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic book from the publicity department of the publisher. They often send a book to local media for each author.
She asked if I'd consider doing an interview and being featured. All writers today are pushed to build a platform, and being publicized in all forms is important. That, plus the fact that I felt flattered, brought a positive answer from me.
Two weeks ago, I met Kimber Wallace, the reporter at the newspaper office and we had a nice visit. At least, that's what it seemed like. Not an interview but one writer visiting with another. She had a tape recorder going and used it plus notes she took to write the article. A few days ago, a photographer came to my home and took about twenty pictures. The one they used is of me sitting at the computer, elbow on a stack of my books and hand on cheek. A pensive image. I'm not the world's most photogenic person so I was pleased with the picture as it captured me pretty well.
Kimber's approach to the article was to feature an ex-teacher who has become a hobbyist writer and been successful at it. She featured my blog and the anthologies I've had stories in. I liked very much the way she summed it up with a final quote from me. It's interesting to read your own quote and be happy about it!
The final paragraph was:
"I'm not a career writer," Kopp said. "But as long as I have a mind, I'll be writing. I'm sure I will. It's just something that's very satisfying, and it's who I am now."
The final phrase--it's who I am now--pretty well covers it all.
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