Some of you know my day job is selling websites to authors and helping them share their books with the world.
Question - Do you show your Straight Into Gay America website to potential clients?
Or do you keep this in the closet until you know them better?
My God! If I'm afraid of losing a sale to a homophobic author, what must it be like for LGBT people who face the daily decision of how, when, and whether to mention gender identity? It's unimaginable to me, but sometimes I get the tiniest taste of this lifelong decision making.
Here's what I can report: As publication progressed through the e-book, A-Page-A-Day, and then on July 18th, with the release of the book, I found myself getting so excited about the book and about what it means that I started telling more and more people.
On a technical level, www.straightintogayamerica.com is a pretty good author site, well worth showing to potential clients. So I started showing almost everyone my website.
Guess what's happening. The 72 year old Deep-South coach tells me that he found out his best man at his long-ago wedding is gay, and he discovered it only recently when his friend got AIDS. "I'll love that man until the day I die. " he told me. The publisher in Florida that I spoke with yesterday called me up and said she was on my website, even as we spoke. She went on to explain that along with how-to books, www.rainbowbooksinc.com publishes a line of lesbian literature. "
If I think back on these last few months of deciding when and whether to share my Straight Into Gay America work, I don't have a bad encounter to report. Read Jody Huckaby's PFLAG report this week for a really hard-hitting report on hate-language and hate-crimes. This report hit me in the gut, and I take it with all seriousness.
Also, though, I have to remember this experience, that almost everyone I talk to during my work hours has a story of some LGBT person they know, or being an LGBT person themselves. I need to keep coming out of the closet of my fears.
Blessings for your journey today,
Lars
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1 comment:
In March, when I was considering going with Lars' Company, he linked me rather early on to his website. I was impressed by it. It's very professional, and an excellent example of the kinds of things his hosting service supports.
Of course, I already agreed with his politics, so perhaps my experience with his website isn't germane to the point.
Oh, and yes, I did go with his company. He offered everything I wanted, at a competitive rate. I've been delighted with the choice ever since.
(And no, Lars didn't pay me to say this. Heck, he didn't even ask me to.)
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