I’m working on the workshop I will be giving on Tuesday to a group of writers in the Seattle area. They asked me to speak and all I could think of was to talk about promotion because frankly it’s the only thing I know well, which is fairly sad.

It’s not like I actually enjoy selling myself, not at all. What happened to me though, in this process of reaching out to everyone I could during the American Title, was that I made friends, real ones, lots of them.

And because I’m so short on time, with kids, writing and personal issues, I’m forever feeling that I am neglecting my friends. I miss them. I miss the good discussion I had on MySpace about life, I miss learning new things from people everyday.

And this is what I’m trying to tell the writers next week, that if anyone is to start trying to promote their work online, just the premise of that is wrong.

Going online just to sell is useless and actually a bit sad. There are some real cool people out there and if we stop obsessing about trying to make more customers, if we can just pause and listen, we will realize that we may have been touched by someone in some way.

And we will get a whole lot more out the web, a lot more depth, then just hearing the echo of our own lonely voice.

Bright Blessings

So strange to be spending a whole week-end mainly cut out from the web (the iPhone made a trip to the toilet –clean toilet– then into a ziploc full of rice for 48 hours). It was impossible to post anything here but I had lots of time to think.

This constant checking email, Twitter, ect does cut into long uninterupted time to think. I can’t say it was productive but I seemed to have rested because today, despite having a cold, I got a lot of stuff done.

Among them was to finalize my bookmark/cards ect with a designer and I am proud to showcase the front of the bookcard here (back will be for tomorrow). These are business card size. Did I mention I think I’m In love with my designer?

I can’t wait to see those on paper!

I wish I could say it was good or enlightening or something like that not to have a phone but I still found ways to be anti-social and neurotic anyway! I read! I’m still on my Georgette Heyer binge.

Yet today I finally wrote the last two scenes I need for my proposal, so onwards to edit tomorrow! If the cold lets me.

We had a wonderful guest today at musetracks. Deborah Schneider made a big writing carreer comeback after years of not writing. Very inspiring.

Blessed Be

I used to joke that I’d only do exercise if you’d pay me good money. The truth was that yes for 15 years I’d get paid each time I led a fitness class and I had a built in motivation right there. I’d need to be throwing up or something worse not to get out there and teach.

I did it with hungovers, 100 degrees fevers, shingle, injuries, with a lost voice and through pregnancy, sometimes up to 3 classes a day.

Then I moved and didn’t go back to my fitness job and found myself now sluggish and of course overweight.

What I have discounted was the fact that exercise gives me energy which in turns feeds my creativity.

Well I’ve been running again.

I sent a six page marketing plan to Dorchester today and I had to stop myself even though I was still getting tons of ideas for fun events. Then I wrote my 1.3K and again ton of ideas flew to me, I also found the title for my Steampunk story with tons of story thread. And wrote tons on writing yahoo loops.

I’m finding this passion for life again. All this from small morning runs.

No need to pay me now, I’ll go take that half-hour and get moving. the benefits are just way too good to pass.

So tired today, too tired to write anything except that Ancient Secrets is very close to be done and that I have a marketing plan drawn out for Ancient Whispers. The latter was easy, yet draining.

And I got a second invitation to talk about marketing to a local writers group. I can’t seem to escape the label. I don’t mind though, I was flattered and said yes. I’m very much looking forward to it.

Blessed Be

I’ve spend a big chunk of my day looking a promotion ideas. My head is swimming.

I didn’t realized authors had to so do much. Yes I blog and I’m out on MySpace and Facebook, but that’s because I like meeting interesting people. But hard core marketing, yikes.

There are magazines adds, and adds on readers blogs and bookmarks to send to booksellers, flyers and brochures and postcards and pens and someone to design these cool things.

Oh and there are possible book signings too! Kind of makes you want to hide in the corner of your room and just wrote another book.

But it is the reality. Authors need to do something and the question seems to be what and where. There is no cause and effect. You do this and that and if you are lucky, magic happen and people decide to buy your book.

Interesting.

I need to have my acknowledgment and dedication done by this week.

Ancient Whispers will be to the memory of my father Pierre-Andre Bourque and dedicated to my boys Logan and Finlay.

The acknowledgments will be very long.

Blessed Be