Ps & Qs

&

Yesterday got away from me and I didn't get a chance to post, so today I'm combining P & Q. There is some debate about the origins of the phrase, minding your Ps & Qs, and today I'm going to use the interpretation of Please and Thank You. Fellow bloggers! We're on the home stretch of the A to Z Blog Challenge and I'm going to check out some more of your wonderful blogs and follow. Please do the same and thank you for following me back!

 

A is for AFRAID

I'm joining the A to Z April Blog Challenge in the hopes that it will abolish my fears of blogging! (Always the overachiever, going for two A's instead of one.)

Last year I was told by several well intentioned fellow writers that I should be blogging. I've tried it, in fits and starts, but I'm ashamed to admit (two more!) that blogging does not come naturally to me. I feel like I'm standing on an empty stage, facing an empty auditorium. I feel like I should say something meaningful, something witty, something funny, something interesting, something unique.....and I end up with nothing.

I'm at the point where I either need to give it up and admit that I'll never be a blogger...or I need to jump in with both feet and forget about being anything but little old me.

When I'm writing fiction, I have no problem being me. Maybe because I get to play all sorts of other parts through my characters and in doing that, I see myself pretty clearly. But writing about writing? Who the hell am I to tell anyone anything about writing? I thought it would be easier to write about books, but I have such eclectic taste. There is no over-arcing theme to what I read or write. I'm all over the place, as far as genre goes. So, I'm not here to tell anyone how to write, what to read and I'm certainly not here to tell you how to blog! But I do like to talk about writing and reading, and I think if I could get over this damnable stage fright, I would enjoy blogging about those things. So, here's my shot. Thank you, Arlee Bird from Tossing it Out, for the opportunity to rise above my fears and have some fun! Maybe by the end of April, I will be able to leave 'afraid' behind and blog with abandon!

Marketing Moratorium Tomorrow!

My first book was released about two weeks ago and I'm already a marketing addict. How did this happen? I'm about as far away from 'salesperson' as a girl can get! And yet, the wide world of internet marketing has consumed me. I wake up every morning and check my Amazon ranking - seriously, I do. Then I plunge into the book marketing world. I check out new blogs, hustle for reviews, research giveaways and blog buttons. I chat with authors and bloggers, making new friends and learning more about computers than I ever thought possible. My eyes are sore, my head is literally spinning and most mornings I'm not sure what to focus on first.

It reminds me of my last trip to Italy. My husband and I had the map spread out, trying to narrow down our choices. We couldn't see it all, so we waded through guidebooks and websites, picking and choosing. Marketing on the web is not so different. There are so many sites to choose from, so many bloggers to hook up with, so many reviewers and giveaways and tweets! I love it - and it's exhausting. Also, I'm not writing. I haven't written more than a paragraph since The Corpse Goddess was released. For obvious reasons, this is not going to work for me. I have a stack of writing projects waiting for me and I seem to be on the Net all the time.

So, it's five minutes to midnight here in the great state of Texas and I'm pledging to avoid all marketing lures for one day. Tomorrow, July 16th, I will not contact generous reviewers, comment on blogs or 'like' anybody! I will sit down and get back to what I love most. I have ghosts and a high strung scientist waiting for me on a ghoststory.doc file. I'll see you on the other side and let you know how it goes!