We who write, we who diligently do the daily maintenance of our twitter sites know about the time consumption aspects of the many activities involved. Most of us who write also have Facebook, Google Plus, Goodreads, LinkedIn, PinIt, and other writer-connection networks - those places we hash mark and direct others. For this 'twilight tweeter' there is discovery and newness, a new world that technological geniuses designed to drive me sometimes mad, to lead me other times to a deliriously delightful place in my
mind. For some the digital world and all its new terminology and operations come easily. For some of us this new world is exciting, fascinating, and, may I say, frantic and frightening - confused by protocols we are to follow here and there - frustrated when a hovering and/or misguided finger gets too close to the laptop keys and we lose some important data - sometimes disappointed and defeated by day's end.

This is one of those deliriously delightful places, my blog(s), where I can commune with my twitter friends and fellow bloggers about so many things that cross my mind - some things, I'm sure, that would be better left alone (like politics and religion!). Today, I wish to single out one dear blog and twitter friend because she has honored me with nominations of some of the blog awards that appear on this page. That twitter friend is Jhobell Kristyl. I thank her for honoring me - and, for putting me in an awkward position. :-) You see, I'm not sure what the protocols are - if there are, indeed, protocols. I wish Jhobell and everyone reading this to know that I'm so appreciative for her nominations of these three awards: 'One Lovely Blog Award ' - 'Very Inspiring Blogger Award' - 'Most Handsome Blogger Award' (Oops! My wife used that word in mentioning Richard Castle's name while I was tapping the keys here, and, since I never erase anything, STET!) - 'REALITY Blog Award' (replaces the 'Most Handsome Blogger Award' - Okay, I'll stop! :-)

Having voiced my appreciation and acknowledgment to Jhobell, I'm going to temporarily postpone fulfilling the various awards' requirements. For now I will just say to Jhobell, thanks so much for thinking of me and I'm honored with the nominations.

Jhobell has a busy blog site at http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com Please visit her site and be entertained and informed. She is also on twitter (@JhobellKristyl).

Finishing up some writing projects but a new post will be posted by week's end.

Jack Durish (http://www.jackdurish.com) and Chris Martin (http://www.chrismartinwrites.com) write some provocative posts and they stirred my neurons. They got me to thinking about this frenzied two-polar high tech and emotional world in which we live today. They got me to thinking about a simple phrase uttered by Arnold Swartzenegger in one of his films: "I'll be back!" They got me to thinking about the 'yesterdays' that can be no more...two talented writers, concerned about, confused about, thinking about the misty elements that control the hours of our collective existence.

Does anyone really doubt that the 'machines' have taken over the world? Sure, the takeover was helped along by the dual wizardry of Computer and Corporate genius. It is very likely that these minds envisioned what they were creating. It is also likely that their creations far exceeded their expectations. For certain, these minds had no choice...their visions, their competitive juices, their incredible brain power made the reality of our 'today' inevitable.

As Jack Durish opines in his most recent post, most of the world has fallen into the routine of fast text messaging while dining out in a fine restaurant, while driving, while taking a walk, virtual slaves to their new world of electronic gadgetry. Writers of great talent wonder why their books are not selling. They are trying everything they know in promoting their novels, but nothing seems to encourage sales. The naysayers might suggest the product has flaws, that established authors always sell their books (sure! with mega-bucks for promotion, TV appearances, media blitzes, and, sure great writing), but the issue is not so basic and simple, methinks. The 'future' is now, that 'future' many of us saw coming but were so beguiled by its on-rushing dazzle and seeming utility that we accepted it without thinking...but, then, what else were we to do? Life could be handled by the 'machines' and without our expending too much effort.

So, here we are, smack dab in the middle of a 'science fiction' movie and we can't walk out of it. Our lives always had its routines, but today the routines are connected to the laptop, the internet, the social media, so many avenues of choice. Our days are gone before we know it as we lose ourselves in the magic of cyberspace. My wife still reads her books (on her laptop). I still pretend I'm a writer (on my laptop). God forbid our internet system goes down! We're lost, even angry at the down time. My wife gets her reading done. I get my writing done, sort of, because there is the need to nourish my twitter, my facebook, my goodreads, my, my, my!

We don't talk so much anymore because we might be interrupting each other as we peck away at our laptops. We don't talk so much because now we have gone through the laptop wars of the day and are watching our favorite TV shows we taped over a period of days. We don't walk as often as we once did. Our 'get up and go' just 'got up and went.' We don't go out to dinner as often as we once did, socialize one-on-one with friends as often as we once did...we do so much socializing on the laptop. We don't read as much or in the same manner we once did, and we perhaps don't read the classics so much anymore, or, that big old tome we call the Holy Bible.

The other consideration, even with all the above rambling, this new world of electronic gadgetry could be a fun and good thing. Maybe many folks still have time for conversing, for reading, for socializing outside the web fare, and for walking and staying in shape. For this 'old dog learning new tricks' the new digital world can get confoundingly frustrating at times. It is during those times that I wonder just where the world is heading. One thing seems rather certain to me: the machines are indeed a controlling factor in my life.

One thing is also sure, should I awake in the morning, I'll be sitting in this spot on the love seat beginning my day of routines. I'll still be promoting my books, still writing posts, still finishing my next book, and still waiting for some bright light to go off in my head that makes sense of all that I'm doing. I'll still be trying to figure it all out while I'm thanking my God for blessing my life.

Hope you were not thinking this post would offer some quick fixes to potential problems. Hell, who is smart enought to outwit these machines? Me, I'm hoping for 'Divine Intervention.'

And, how was your day?

Emily Frankel who has a blog called "Em's Talkery" had a recent post about all things 'chic' in our modern world, not the least of which is the E-World of publishing. With all the smart, stylish, elegant gadgetry in the E-World, we can communicate our ideas and thoughts within seconds all around the orbiting globe. Guess that's pretty awesome, particularly for us 'old dogs trying to learn new tricks.' Awesome, chic, whatever the defining adjective used, it is a rather incredible world we're living in today.

Not long after reading Em's post on 'Chic,' I read another post from an author who has some major concerns as to how he can best market and sell his books. This writer was concerned that his books were not selling to his satisfaction, even though he was getting 5-Star reviews in good numbers, even though he was utilizing the social media networks and blog sites to the max. He was asking for suggestions, replies to his post that just might open a door he had not thought to open. In essence, he was asking, does social media and do the blog sites sell books?

Along with many other writers I responded to his post. Without exception, each responder felt that the E-technology we have today is indeed awesome and mind-boggling, 'Chic' with a the big 'C.' With the praise for the technology came the resounding 'I don't knows.' Other than providing consistent name recognition for your brand name (you and your book titles), social media (twitter, facebook, et al) and free book give-aways, author interviews, and even 5-Star reviews aplenty were not selling a lot of books for some very good writers. A few of us responders told the inquiring writer that we had just about run the 'daily wars' gamut, you know, where you begin each day catching up with your followers on twitter, facebook, goodreads, linkedin, whichever, check your blog sites, write a new post, plus maybe fit in some family issues --- and I'm talking about us 'old dogs' in this new 'Chic' world, already in or approaching retirement from the world of work. A few of us told him that we loved to write and that we were getting caught up in this new E-World fantasy and not doing a lot of tapping on the old laptop keys...told him basicallly that we were just going back to our writing, keep our blogs updated with our books and let the chips fall where they might.

Sales and Marketing was my business for some years and I must admit that I'm stymied in this digital environement --- amused with it but also confounded by it. Now, I'm smart enough to know that some savvy folks have found some E-Doors to open that I don't know about, are younger and have the brain power, energy, stamina, and wherewithal to cope with this new E-World. I'm happy for these people, envy them in a nice way, and wish they would 'pro bono' themselves to my website and let me know their secrets. It's doubtful anyone would be so disposed.

Now I know what some of you are thinking, that maybe we authors are too much in love with our writing efforts to see the flaws in our 'product.' Not a chance! Our works are great! Remember the 5-Star reviews we have, and not from friends and relatives with false names. I've read some of these writers, and I know they're good. I rather suspect that the devil is running loose somewhere within this E-World technology...there is too much free stuff out there to read that people don't have the inclination to buy books. Would you? When you can get them free?

Anyway, me! welcome to the E-World! If I find the magic key and a door, I'll get back to you.

Keep writing, good authors 'of the pen!' Remember, we're in cyberspace...if not now, maybe we will be bought and read in another millenium.

"Somebody Likes Us!"
  
We all have our reasons for writing and it's a good bet that most of those reasons are fairly standard...to fulfill a desire...to become established, famous, successful...to simply tell a story...to scratch an ego itch...for all these and many other reasons. Does it really matter what our reasons are for writing? Any reason is valid and need not be magnified, right? Well, not quite. Some might write to hurt someone, to slander, to libel, to ruin someone or some entity. Let's just assume for this post that our reason for writing has a noble intent and has no malicious purpose.So we write a few books and there come the critics, the reviews that can range from 5-Star to 3-Star, even lower. The world of reading seems to thrive on reviews, what someone thinks about her/his reading experience. There are professional review services. There are housewives, husbands, people in book clubs, avid readers who are moved to comment about a writer's effort. It is a fact of life in the relationship between reader and writer.

So, you have written what you consider a relatively good book...sure, even you can in the final pre-publish reading find things you could change --- extend a section, remove a section, embellish here, there, increase the length, decrease the length, etc. In the end you feel that you have written an entertaining book, maybe not the perfect quintessential novel that you know is
still inside you somewhere but a good book. The reviews line up, the 5-Star, the 3-Star, the 1-Star, the fractional Star, and you begin to analyze the reviews, maybe even agree with a point or two the people are making. The emotions begin to swirl. Of course, you gravitate toward the 5-Star, 4-Star reviews and are elated. The bad reviews bring conflicting thought patterns. There is an initial sinking feeling which will likely become anger, and, at some point, you will equivocate, deny, only to finally acknowledge that perhaps the negative points made in the bad reviews have validity.

Your thought processes on reviews run the gamut. 'What gives this person the right to publicly condemn my efforts, this Hannah Housewife, this Harold Husband? Hell, I likely gave them the book free on amazon during a free giveaway day! Cost them nothing and they're critiquing me!' You go back and re-read the 5-Star and 4-Star reviews, get some renewed sustenance. But, most of all, you're in a dither and doubting yourself and your writing talent because you could not please everyone. Chances are very good you are not being controlled by a publicist, someone who shelters you from this wasteful
dithering. As an independent author you are a one-person publishing house, writing, editing, marketing, promoting, getting lost in all the digital world's 'ways and means.'

Does an established, famous, author get a mixture of critiques? Perhaps not so many because the pros have the reading Pavlov public 5-Star oriented. But the truth is, yes, even these most popular penners of best sellers get their negative reviews as well. They have a much better shield in place to deflect the nasty words that cause the dithering.

All of this is not to say that you, I, and the countless other writers do not have our book flaws. Most probably, we have many flaws in our books, and with each new book we write, we are getting less and less errata. We are, as they say, growing our craft. Will we get to that stage where we live among the giants of our writing world? Some certainly will because talent cannot be denied too long.

It is very difficult to separate ourselves from the critics in the writing field, but we can remember what our reasons are for writing. We will still experience the dithering, but it seems to me we have to stay true to whom we are. If we are getting 5-Stars along with some minimal Stars, somebody likes us. And, that is the message: remember your reasons for writing and just know that somebody likes us. My belief is you get better with each writing effort. Just stay committed to your course. Believe in yourself.

Somebody Likes Us!

So Many Ways To Confuse!
Posted on September 8, 2012
  by  billyraychitwood1

 Fancy yourself a writer?

Yeah, me, too. I’m writing my tenth book. My first book was actually published by a small pub house in the 1990s. It was after this experience that the decision was made to go it alone, that is, be a one-man show: write, proofread and edit, re-edit, re-edit, re-edit, publish, market/promote, sell, and try very hard to understand the new internet language of the day. You know, URLs, Feeds, Links, Tags, Keywords, Blogs, Posts, Websites, Widgets, Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, on and on? That’s when it hit me like a bad tooth ache: I’m a freaking anachronism — I know nothing about this new digital world we live in.

Well, you can see I didn’t give up. You do see, right? Those nine books I’ve got on amazon.com? Really, you haven’t seen them? Well, you should… Whatever, with all my hooting and hollering, my ranting and raving, my wife sure wished at times that I would give up. I’ve tried the social media, nay, I’ve become a slave to the social media. There are several long visits each day to Twitter, to Facebook, to WordPress, to Goodreads, to Pin-It, to Google Plus, to my Website and blog sites, to two e-mail sites, et al. Now, being an older fellow, I’m up at 7:00-8:00 AM and, darn, before there’s a clue, it’s 5:00 PM and I’ve done virtually no writing at all. And everyone knows what happens at 5:00 PM, right? No, not cocktail hour! Well, maybe cocktail hour! But, the news of the day comes on at 5:00 PM, and, being good citizens of the world, we need to know what’s happening around the globe… So, now, it’s dinner time and soon to be 8:00 PM. My wife needs to watch a couple of TV shows. Now, it’s 11:00 PM. I’ve got no juice left for writing my masterpiece. I take a pill and go to bed. No writing!

That’s the point! No Writing! I want to write and finish that tenth book (I like even numbers!). Yet, like all of us ‘best selling authors’ (mind your chuckles!), there is the almost prurient side of me that wants the books I’m writing to sell — like, viral sell! Time is of the essence for me (playing the age card!) and I’m beginning to wish this electronic age had not been so fast and furious in coming at us. It would just be so very nice to have a publisher again, a good one, a publisher who expertly handles the nitty-gritty details of editing and promotion. They would surely find more of my errata than I’m likely to find. They could likely even suggest ways to make my masterpieces even better — it’s okay to ‘yuk-yuk.’

Anyway, there are so many ways today to confuse us poor beat-up writers, to keep us from doing what it is we really want to do. Sure, there are those with the ‘e pluribus unum’ to hire publicists and get these things done, but I’m a stingy stick-in-the-mud who has just got to do it his very own way, goofs and all.

So, the question is: Is there someone out there who will work pro bono and get me out of this mess I’m in?

Okay, if you’re all going to sit there laughing your fool heads off, I’m outta here!