I am a rock. I am an island.
(Simon and Garfunkel ‘I am a Rock’)
That is me. An rock of oblivion and an island of inflexibility
standing firm in the raging torrent of social media.
Here’s the thing about rocks and islands.
We don’t stand firm because we are strong
and steadfast and resolute.
We are stuck.
Have you ever seen an island pull up stakes to follow the crowd?
And rocks. Not known for trendiness.
Several years ago I thought it would be fun to start writing a book.
Once I got some impetus going I thought it would be fun to finish it.
What could be more fun than finishing a book?
Submitting it to a publisher!
Oh! Oh!
And then getting it published!
Having family and friends buy it!
This rolling stone was gathering no moss.
Until, in a parallel universe—the actual one—I came to realize that the rolling, moss-shedding author
was a temporary illusion.
The real me is the unmoving rocky island with roots to the center of the earth.
An atoll (there are very few synonyms for ‘island’) who is learning that writers eventually run out of family and friends to purchase one’s book. The glorious ‘I am a published author’ ride
hits the rocks.
And one needs to
PROMOTE.
Promotion is double horror for a rock and an island:
One needs to be confident and outgoing. Creative and fearless. Rocks are not known for these qualities. We prefer to blend into the scenery and have people sit on us.
And one needs to have moved from newspaper interviews/genteel bookstore readings and into Twitter feeds and author pages and likes on Facebook and blog widgets and avatars and all the things islands just can’t cope with.
But the world of social media and self-promotion is lapping at my rocky shores.
I’ve cajoled and convinced everyone I know to buy my book and I can’t make new friends or relatives fast enough to generate glowing book sales.
So I’ll do what I can to appear that I am busily promoting, without actually moving.
*************
I wrote a book folks! A suspense/romance mystery!
It’s called ‘Winter Watch’ and my real name (really) is Anita Klumpers
Publisher: Prism Book Group
Available in paperback and ebook from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords
and various other online sites.
*************
There.
That didn’t hurt a bit.
But my editor is heading this way with a few sticks of TNT.
My island days are numbered.
Look for bits and pieces of my rocky self bobbing along in the social media world,
gasping out tweets and hanging onto a widget for dear life.
The Tuesday Prude (aka Anita Klumpers) 
(chuckle) Anita, oops, Prudey Tuesday, I love to see you rockin’ and rollin’ socially! And in full seriousness, your book is outstanding. I read it to myself, and now I’m reading it aloud to my mother and enjoying it even more the second time through. You’ve created a town I’d love to B&B in, and characters I’ll be looking for when I go! Winter Watch is brilliant.
Robin, I was thinking of you as I struggled to come up with ‘rock’ words. (Robin could do this with half her brain tied behind her back) You are the queen of wordplay!
I noticed you now have share buttons on your blog. I liked, then shared this post on Twitter. I’ll be looking for you over there. 🙂 You’re already at master-level on Facebook, so you’ll be just fine.
Remember, you’re not alone in spreading the news about your book. This friend has been spreading the news, and the feedback is terrific. My mother loved the book and is hoping for a sequel set in the same town with the same characters. My sister is reading it now, and just sent me a note that she’s loving it. I’m almost finished, and then plan to write a five-star review. Dear Prude, you may or may not be a rock, but you’re definitely not an island.
Just the words I needed today. I have no idea how the share button got on my blog. I don’t think I put it there. Maybe my site got sick of waiting for me to figure things out and is taking matters into its own hands. Bless you and your family Lori!
Wow. Your editor is coming at you with sticks of TNT? Make me out to be the evil one! You’re doing great. The book is great and you are slowly buidling your platform. Yeah, it’s a bit scary and it’s work, but it’s been fun to watch people enjoying your book! Congratulations!
I knew you would read this Susan. A good editor will always try to get the lead out of her writers.
Unless someone lights a fire under me I will never move!
So sorry you cannot hide under a rock or on the island. Fame knows no boundaries!
OOOh – and to think I knew you when. I WILL use that picture I took in Culver’s on your blog post next week if I don’t hear from you by then. He-he-he
Clever!
I’m loving your book, Anita (um, I mean Prude), I bought one for myself, a couple for family members, one to share AND we’re doing it for our book study group! So there, those of us who are social media holdouts/rocks/islands (but promote enthusiastically with our overactive mouths) are doing our part as well! Just think of the possibilities…..;-}