When I was in college, one of my teachers was an established author, and everyone ADORED her. She was the youngest teacher on staff and effortlessly kind to every single student. I wanted so badly to befriend her, but I was far too shy. (*POV: Me anytime I'm around wise, nice people...)
Then, one day, our Chemistry teacher was absent. Since it was a free period, she was assigned to supervise our class. Everyone sat back in their seats - relaxed, but attentive. Since we all knew she was a published writer, a few of the talkative readers in class immediately started asking her about her books. I just sat there, listening quietly.
Before long, my classmates mentioned to her that I wrote too, and suddenly her attention turned directly to me. Easily intimidated as I was by people I admired, I couldn't mutter a single word! But she didn't push me. Instead, she just talked - sharing her experiences as an author, revealing the narrow-minded things critics had said to her, and showing us how a writer can take something as simple as sunlight streaming through a window and transform it into something breathless and romantic, etc. You can already imagine how hard I was falling!
Toward the end of class, when we asked about getting physical copies of her book, she told us to remind her the next day. We did, and soon enough, her book was in our hands. When we offered to buy them, she had us write our names down on a paper so she could order a custom batch. I was amazed to learn that her books weren't sitting in commercial markets - she had them printed specifically and intentionally for the people who requested them.
I couldn't fully comprehend her choice back then. But today, as an author myself, it all finally clicked just a week ago...
