Querying Update and Building Your Platform

 Querying Update

 

I got my very first rejection -- a form rejection. 

Phew. I've truly been initiated ! I'm really a writer now.

One down, nine to go and I take hubby out to dinner.

Building Your Platform

You've all heard it. In today's publishing world, if you want an agent and/or publisher to consider your book, you'd best have an online presence.

So, you sign up for Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+, and whatever else out there strikes your fancy. You begin to stalk agents and other writers/authors to see what they're up to.

You begin blogging about your writing journey and start following loads of other writers, hoping they will follow you in return. You sign up for bloghops and contests. You're starting to get some regular followers who consistently comment. And, of course, you have to visit all their blogs and comment back. That's what it's all about, right? Networking?

And you find that you're having so much fun. The Internet has introduced you to hundreds if not thousands of interesting, entertaining people--and you've connected to many of them. You can't wait to read their next posts.

Then it starts to happen. You wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if you remembered to schedule your next post. Or worse, you wake up in the middle of the night because you can't think what to write for your next post.

The pressure mounts. What if your post is stupid? What if the people who've been commenting find other blogs they like better?

Your hands begin to shake when you haven't had your daily Internet fix. You're dying to know what everyone's up to, what things might inspire you in your blog posts.

And your writing?

When's the last time you actually sat down to write? Or when you did, your hand moved to the icon for your web browser? You didn't even realize it was moving of its own volition. Suddenly, a hour's gone by. Or two. Hours of precious time that you promised you'd spend on your book.

Because the whole point of all that platform building has been in preparation for your book.

Right?

 So, what do you do

to keep social media

from taking over

your life?

Coming Home and Awards . . . and Stress

I'm en route back to the mainland after a delightful trip. We had some beautiful days and some horribly rainy ones--I mean flash flood heavy rains on Tuesday. We watched as the lawns outside and across the street became little rivers. Reminded me of the monsoons when I lived in the Philippines as a girl--one year we had 29 inches of rain--in September alone.

But that's okay. We played a variety of board and video games. And the weather the day before (Monday)--when we went to a local luau--was very pleasant. The Smith Family Luau was so much fun. Beautiful grounds, great food, and a fun show. Just a few sprinkles--the lull before the storm.

This is us with the family of one of my son-in-law's coworkers.

Having received some awards lately, I figured it was time to acknowledge the wonderful givers.

I've received the Great Commenter Award twice, once each from Nancy Thompson, Leigh Covington, and J.A. Bennett.

 Earlier this week Kelley over at Between the Bookends gave me the two awards below, and Sara at Live to Write...Edit When Necessary gave me the Versatile Blogger. J.A. Bennett gave me the Versatile Blogger, too.

I'm supposed to provide trivia about myself, but I've bored everyone stupid with tidbits about myself in previous posts so I'll pass this time.

I wish I had the time to track down a list of some bodacious bloggers out there who deserve these. However, things are crazy right now, so I'm merely going to acknowledge the awesome ladies who were kind enough to think of me. I invite you to visit their blogs and encourage you to follow them if you aren't already.

Seriously, speaking of crazy. How the heck did I end up on the boards of three different writing associations? I have eight years before I can retire, so I work full-time (plus). 

Don't misunderstand. These really are wonderful networking opportunities, and I love the people I'm working with. But when am I going to have time to write?


Do you find yourself getting in deeper than you probably should, making commitments you worry you won't be able to fulfill? I hate doing things halfway.

At what point do you have to step back from some things?