SPIN EVERYTHING

SPIN EVERYTHING I recently wrote a guest post for Carol Tices phenomenal blog called MAKE A LIVING WRITING. My post was entitledHow I Got More Writing Assignments With Multiple Personality Querying. makealivingwriting.com/2012/07/25/multiple-personality-query-letters/ In answering the comments, I realized that as writers, we have to spin everything we do. No, spin is not a bad four-letter word. Per Wikipedia, the public relations version of the word SPIN is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure. That definition might be a bit too defined, however, because spin is basically persuasion to achieve an end. Absolutely everything you write has SPIN in it. Every friggin thing. When you write a blog, you are coaxing people to follow you, maybe buy your work. When you pitch a magazine, you are convincing the editor you have the qualifications to write the feature. When you query an agent or publisher, you are enticing (hopefully not begging) them to acquire your writing. When you leave a comment on a blog, Facebook or Twitter, you are leaving a piece of yourself, hoping someone takes interest and follows you. Never do we write without a purpose, without the effort of grabbing people and drawing them in. i.e., SPIN But this is also a form of showing how your qualifications match the needs of the reader/agent/editor/magazine. Its not begging. Showing someone how much you know, how you achieved that knowledge, and where you are currently appreciated, is no more than matching your needs with theirs. To NOT do so is almost a deception in itself. So get over the queasiness of promoting yourself. Its a moral duty to paint yourself in your best light . . . so the person on the other end can make the best informed decision about you. Its not blatant self-promotion. Its telling the truth. (And SPIN can be a GOOD thing.)