Robert Fulghum, on his blog site (http://www.robertfulghum.com/) posted on March 9th what many who write recognize to be true:
It is true that writing is mostly a way to be a good companion to one’s self.
It is true that writing is a way to live your life over several times.
It is true that if you write only to get the attention of others, you will never be satisfied. Because you can’t ever really know what others think.
This is especially the case with friends and family and neighbors. The closer people are to you, the less they will have to say about what you publish. It’s the people you do not know – the readers from far away - ones you will never meet – who will write to you and reflect on your writing. In part it is because they have imagined you. You are a projection of their lives and thinking. Fan mail is more about the fan than you.
Speaking of fans, I am big fan of Fulghum’s; I LOVE his writings. He makes me smile, even laugh out loud at times (so, I guess it IS about me). I like to think I’m one of those people he calls “players.” I and others like me are his audience.
I found it comforting to read what Fulghum shared as I realized the truth of it myself some time ago—that many of the people who know me don’t have much to say about my writing for Breast Cancer Wellness magazine. And, that is a-okay with me.
It’s the readers who don’t know me—the readers from far away—who do read what I have to say. They are the ones I mean to touch anyway. But I do feel that I am satisfied even as I write for their attention. I write for them while writing for myself; I am inspired by the people I profile.
Writing for the attention of others is in line with good marketing and good communications; it’s writing for the audience, a.k.a. the target. I’ll never forget the words of my mentor, Scott Harlin, a successful high-tech marketer. He said, “Remember the audience; what’s in it for them?” Well over a decade ago, Harlin made me print that out and paste it to my computer monitor, because he wanted to drive home the idea that all successful communications speak to the audience.
Last week I was touched by readers, by representatives of the journalistic world—readers from far away who took notice and saw the positive purpose of the work.
The fall 2007 issue of Breast Cancer Wellness magazine, to which I contribute profiles, received the 2007 Dan Ranly Award for “Best Issue” in the consumer category from the Missouri Association of Publications (MAP). Now, I realize that Beverly Vote, our publisher and editor-in-chief, gets just about all of the credit for the magazine, but it is nice to share in the honor. It tells me that we at the magazine speak to our audience.
So, is this a case of the fan mail (honor) being more about the fan than about me or the magazine? Yes, and it means that we touched them, just as Mr. Fulghum’s works touch so many of us around the world. Whether he intends to or not, Fulghum gets the attention of others. I’m happy to say, so does Breast Cancer Wellness magazine.
To view the fall 2007 issue of Breast Cancer Wellness magazine, go to: http://www.breastcancerwellness.org/magazine/Fall07_01.pdf. My articles begin on page 44. DSJC