Blog Archives
Full Disclosure.
In the interest of honesty and full disclosure, I will honestly disclose that I started my blog – this blog – because I wrote a book. And I wanted a way to promote and advertise said book. You may have seen it around here – Return In Time.
And now I’ve written another book, Somewhere To Belong. Amazing, I know.
But it turns out I’m not very good at hawking, hustling, pushing, promoting my book(s). It turns out, having a blog is about way more than promoting a book. It’s a whole lot of fun meeting amazing people who have even more amazing things to say. I have to admit, I read other people’s posts way more than I post or comment. It’s my Guilty Addiction.
I would also say, in the interest of full disclosure, that I’m not very good at writing about being an indie-author. I’d rather write about romance, and life and humor, and stuff that interests me. I’m a big fan of humor. I can be serious, if needed, but it’s not my strongest trait. Besides, that’s what day jobs are for.
Since I started blogging I’ve hopped around to a lot of other blogs sites. Often I am amazed at the writing I have found, and often intimidated. Usually by the beauty of their written words. Keep in mind that beauty takes many forms. There’s beauty in sharing, in caring, in spiritual inspiration and humor. The blog sphere is like a treasure chest that’s large and grand and full of sparkly gems. Some are finely cut, highly polished and set with gold, and some are gems still in their natural rough form, but all have their special value.
I am grateful for them all, the ones I visit and the ones who visit me. I know I’m a small fish in a very big pond, but God Bless you all, I’m loving the company. I’m having fun and flowing with the tide.
So, in the interest of full disclosure, let me say; Thanks to you all, just for being here.
Enjoy Always, T
The Blessing of Experience.
Experience is a grand teacher, perhaps the best.
It’s all well and good to sit in a class room and listen to a speaker or read through a text book for all the important bits of interesting information, but in the long run, (and trust me, I’ve had a very long run) experience is the best teacher.
Before experience all you have is a concept. (Like the Big Bang Theory – I LEA that show.) I may think I’ll react a certain way in a certain circumstance, but until I experience said circumstance, I really don’t know. I only have a concept, an idea, or a theory. It’s only when the ‘circumstance’ actually happens that I really get to test my concept, idea or theory. Only then do I really know what I would really do, because I did it. Understand?? I certainly hope so. If not, then that’s okay, because that’s the experience you’re having regarding understanding this post…. but I digress.
I may think I’m a good swimmer, but what will I really experience if I fall off a raft while shooting the rapids? Or heaven forbid, off my yacht while in the middle of the ocean. I won’t know for sure until it happens. (No, I don’t really have a yacht, remember, this is still a concept.)
Once upon a time, I had a concept of what it would be like to be a published author. In particular, a published indie author. I read and read and read all about authors and the publishing industry and I was sure I knew what I was doing and what to expect. But NO, I was wrong. Not completely wrong, but fairly wrong. It’s been much better and much worse than I expected. That’s the thing about reality, it’s rarely the way we imagine it to be. It was only when I had the experience that I was able to really know how it felt – for me. And only for me. For everyone else, the experience is different.
And that’s another blessing. No matter how many times we hear about how it is for someone else, no matter how many times we image how it will be for ourselves, only the experience will provide the proof.
So I say, God Bless the Experience. It’s the only way to live. And may I suggest that you go out and have a few of your own, experiences that is.
Have fun and Enjoy Always, T
Customers vs Readers.
Recently the local press has been delivering a stack of their weekly newspapers to my apartment complex as a freebie. There are 13 apartments in this complex and we often receive twenty or more newspapers. Of those twenty newspapers, at least 80% go directly to the recycling bin at the end of the week, unopened and unread.
As an author, the last thing I want is to be unread.
Along that path…. I once saw a sign at one of those Joe’s Diners that read: I’d rather serve ten meals to one customer than one meal to ten customers.
That sign tells me he hoped his food and service was so good that folks would come back again and again, not just once to check him out and keep on going. He’d rather have regulars than customers. It made me think…. I’d rather sell one book to someone who reads it and enjoys it than ten books that never get read. I’d rather have readers than customers.
The last thing an author wants is to be unread.
Still on that path… I recently found this post on The Writers Guide to E-Publishing by Scott Nicholson: Writing for One Reader. In the post Scott writes:
Oddly, the modern conversation around writing has moved away from words and toward numbers: how much money you can make self-publishing, the best price for an ebook, the sales totals and the rank and the royalty percentages. At this historic opportunity to share words with readers, writers seem far less interested in their readers than they do their customers.
I may be out of sync, but I’d rather have a few good readers than a lot of unread books sold to customers. Numbers do not tell it all. Happy readers do. When a reader takes the time to tell me they enjoyed my book I call that my payday. I’ve have a lot of really good paydays lately. BTW, I’m very happy with my many good readers and my numbers. I thank each and every one of them from the tips of my fingers and the bottom of my heart.
So to all of my readers, blog and book, Thanks….. and Enjoy always, T
Three little words.
So often, it just takes three little words to change our day and even our lives.
Life is good.
Look for the good and you’ll find the good, look for the bad and you’ll find the bad. If I think I’m have a bad day I only need to remind myself that…. Life is good.
Do your best.
Sometimes it helps to remember that at any given time, on any given day, I’m doing the best I can with who I am. We are all doing our best, what ever that may be. And as we all know, sometimes our best is better than others. So go out there and…. Do your best.
Go for it.
The greatest risk is the risk not taken. When fear threatens to hold us back from our greater good, it helps to push ourselves forward …. Go for it.
I love you.
Three of the most powerful words. They have the ability to change our day, and certainly our lives. Don’t hold back, say them often. Say them to yourself. Right here, right now, tell yourself ….. I love you.
Enjoy always, T
