Diving in Head First

Boy, am I excited! And I’ll warn you in advance that this initial post is going to be more about me than most of what will follow. It’s my reward, and if I do say so myself, I’ve earned it. I’ve just turned the metaphorical key for the lock on my new door. This is where I plan to hang out from now on, and you are more than welcome inside. If things go as I hope, I’ll introduce my fourth book on these pages. Just keep in mind one of my favorite quotes, “Men plan. God laughs.”

The recipe for any new blog calls for starting with a hook. You may be disappointed to hear that I’m not going to rely on any such formula for success. Just by getting to the point where I can offer my writings, I feel like I’m where I need to be. I will genuinely cherish anyone that joins along, but I’m writing because it’s the right thing for me to do.

It just occurred to me that I might be starting a bit defensively in at attempt at lowering expectations. Well, at least that shows that I have a bit of self-insight. I already feel a bit of pressure just in assuming the mantle of writer of literary fiction. I don’t want to mislead you. What you read here will not be pretty words. It will be honest and may provide you with fresh insights concerning yourself and the world of mysterious creatures, aka other people.

When I decided to go public with my books, it was a major decision since much of what I wrote was quite private, I knew that, if I wanted anyone to read what I had written, I had to venture into the marketing arena. For me, that’s akin to jumping into a pool of sharks. As it happens, that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

Before I give you a glimpse into that experience, I think I need to tell you why I write. The answer has evolved over time but is now quite clear. I write because there are some, even if just a few, people who get my books. I don’t mean that they read them, think “That’s nice,” and move to the next one on their list. What I’m saying is that they feel what I’m writing. They experience it, get to know my characters, and gain something from the reading. I can’t begin to tell you what that feels like for a writer after slaving over a book.

Back to marketing, it’s a sad fact that most books simply wither away on Amazon. I have no doubt that many of them are good to excellent. It’s a brutal business. I initially sentenced my first book to just such a demise. I published it and no one read it. Quite predictably, it disappeared into the electronic dust heap.

As much as I would like to share that story, I’m going to do my best to be disciplined and save it  for later. The bottom line is that the experience with my first book made it clear that I needed someone with skills and knowledge I didn’t possess if I were to give me books a chance to breathe. The people I subsequently hired were extremely talented. They produced beautiful posts and videos. Not unexpectedly, I now have several thousand followers on social media (books by Neal Ritter), and YouTube.

You may be surprised to hear that I would gladly trade all of them for you. Yes, I mean you, the person who has followed the bread crumbs and ended up here on this page. You’re not here for the hype and the splash. You’re here because you want to share in my quest to look inside while also pondering the bigger questions involving our existence here on this tiny rock.

About three months ago, I became fully aware of a major misstep in my writing career. Because I had spent my professional life as a psychologist, marketers naturally assumed that my books belonged on the self-help shelf. They don’t. I fussed, squirmed, and complained, but I didn’t know where else to put them. Writers who know what they’re doing begin by defining their target audience. I didn’t. I just wrote.

When I was first told I was a literary writer, I protested. I make no claims to be a great or gifted writer. As I stopped to ponder the true meaning of the term, I was thrilled because it fit like a glove. I write deeply introspective fiction. My emphasis is more about why things happen rather than what the things are that happen.

So, what did I do with this new insight? I immediately shed the ill-fitting garb that my marketers created and made the bold, though possibly foolhardy, decision to go my own way. There was only one problem. I inherited this mass of followers and didn't have the graphics skills necessary to feed them their expected diet.

In line with my new identity as an introspective writer, I feel it important to explain what my last few weeks have been like. I don’t take at all lightly the work that was done to create so many followers. I feel a responsibility to them and to my work. I’ve been driving myself to the brink trying to do things that I’m ill-equipped to do. Much of my time over the past several weeks has been consumed with tasks that are far from my wheelhouse, like creating social media posts and a new website. Frankly, I would rather be here.

Which leads me to a story that you might find of interest. But I need to conform, at least to a degree, with the rules of blog writing by not over writing. And didn’t I provide a hook?  There I go contradicting myself already. Maybe I can reduce my dissonance by saying that the story isn’t all that interesting. In any case, I’m thrilled that you’re here and hope you’ll come back.

I’m doing my best to restrain my impulse to continue writing, but I do need to add one more note. As a general rule, psychologists don’t initiate. We, instead, respond to our clients’ agendas. By writing a blog, I’m well out of my comfort zone. You can help by providing your thoughts. In fact, you are much more than welcome to help me shape this blog.