I Don't Do Scary Then Why Do I Scare Myself?

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Genre-istas have been invited to talk about reading scary stories or watching scary movies. I must confess I do neither. A few decades ago I did read romantic Suspense but no more. I’ve never been a fan of scary movies. I remember going to see Psycho with my mom when it first came out and having nightmares for weeks as well as startling at virtually nothing in broad daylight.

Now Available

I will admit that one of the scariest things I’ve ever done is learn about indie publishing so I can publish and promote my Sacred Women’s Circle series. Most recently I’ve committed to learn how to build a website so I can manage updates on my own. I’ve also committed to learn about creating a Newsletter to let my readers know what I’m up to. And on my ‘to learn list’ is Photoshop Elements so I can create simple book covers.

I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about my ability to learn how to do these things (not writing the books, that’s the easy part) but the technical stuff? Rigid muscles, tense hands, stressed out brain, headache from the iron bar across my shoulders and my self-talk? One would think I had the intelligence of a — well, I’m not sure what to put in here.

Why do I do this to myself?

The answer is in a concept I came up with over my decades of watching people including myself.

Public and Private learners.

Public learners just get out there and do it. They expect a learning curve. They expect to make mistakes. They expect to fall or fail. It doesn’t bother them if they stumble, fall or make a mistake because they are learning. They get back up, dust themselves off and start over again. Most babies are public learners. When they are learning to walk, they keep trying until they get it right.

Private learners are just the opposite. They may expect the learning curve and to make mistakes but they become very creative not to do any of that in public. They want to have mastered at the very least, the basics, before they do anything other people can see. I’ve seen some babies who are more private learners. They don’t talk until they can say phrases if not complete simple sentences! And they don’t walk independently until they know they won’t fall.

With those two concepts, which type of learner do you think I am?

If you guessed private learner, you are correct. And because I am a private learner, it’s even more difficult for me to try something out in front of other people. Funny, it isn’t that I’m afraid of people reading my books – nope it’s learning the techie stuff to make them available.

Sneak Preview of website

My new website, one I’ve created myself with the help of iPower’s (my hosting company) Concierge service will be available the end of October. I want to coordinate its launch with my new blog header, and Newsletter. All of these details take time!

I'm working at the 2016 Fall Home and Garden Show this week. Checkout my Judith Ashley blog on Monday for my take on the Show. I participated in the Spring Show earlier this year and had a fantastic time.

Hope you’ll check back for the Big Reveal Announcement about my website. I'm curious to know what you think of my efforts! And while you’re there, sign up for my newsletter. I’m hoping to get my first newsletter out in late October or early November. I’ve another techie learning curve coming up in order to send it out.

In the meantime, consider your own take on the world. Are you a public learner or are you a private learner?

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley