Afterbirth

Having never had children I don't know from personal experience what happens in those first weeks after giving birth. But I'd think there are some similarities to what I've been feeling since The Secrets They Kept was published. This book after all, was my baby. Instead of nine months, it took seven years.  Seven years of attachment in some form to this story and these characters I had invented, fed and nurtured, breathed life into, let rest for awhile and nurtured some more. And then with a press of a button on a keyboard the placenta is broken and I am detached.

But not really. What mother gives birth to a child and stays separated? 

And then there are all those questions crowding my mind and vying for attention.  Like what do I do now?  I can't leave this thing sitting on a web page on Amazon by itself and think it will survive?   Is it going to be a healthy child or sickly? Why has it taken so long for Smashwords to send files to Barnes and Noble and iTunes? Will it live to a good old age or die young? And then the really big question, am I actually ready to be a mother, I mean published author? No matter. It's too late now to debate. There is a newborn book who needs me.

The book needs press and reviews that will translate into sales. It needs me to guest post and be interviewed to spread the news of its arrival. There is no nanny in the form of a Big Six marketing budget, just me, the birth mother, with a little  help from Facebook,Twitter and her friends, trying to wash away the afterbirth and get on with the business of making sure this baby book lives a healthy, happy and long life.

After all, that's all any mother wants for her child.

Check out  my first Amazon review in which The Secrets They Kept was called an "Excellent Debut Novel!"

Walking The Walk

I keep thinking there is something I want to write about Steve Jobs and then I look around and I see the airwaves, the papers, the Internet, flooded with conversation and commentary and I wonder what I could possibly say that hasn't been said already, what I could add that would give a fresh perspective.

And so until now I haven't. I've let everyone else speak. But this morning I remembered why I write. It is not necessarily the story itself but it is how it is told. And it is our own unique voices that make all the difference.

Steve Jobs' voice was unique. His story engages us all. He did what so many of us want to do but are afraid to. He followed his heart and his intuition. He went against conventional thought.  He let his passion direct his path, not where he thought there might be money. He demonstrated what can happen when you do that. He literally changed the world and from that the bonus was a financially abundant life. But Steve told the world he never did it for the money. That is so contradictory to the thought process that dominates today's corporate culture. And yet it worked, and brilliantly!

You never hear people complaining about working for Apple. In fact, go into any Apple store and people are happily waiting to help you. That passion that Steve Jobs had for the product miraculously makes it all the way to the person sitting at the Genius Bar. Encouraging creativity, thinking out of the box, establishing an environment that people want to come work in, this is not the way of most business environments today. Yet Steve Jobs proved it can work and be profitable at the same time. That's a concept that is as innovative as the iPhone was in 2007.

I commented on Facebook the other day that the world has lost a bright light in Steve Jobs. I'll now add that because of the way he chose to live his life, that light will shine on into eternity. He changed the way we use technology. He made it fun and colorful and easy. He encouraged us all to follow our heart and our intuition. And he did more than talk the talk. He walked the walk. The only gift he was not blessed with was the length of time in which to do that.

I don't know if my thoughts add any freshness or insight to what has already been said, but it doesn't matter. I am listening to Steve Jobs today. I am not waiting for someone else to say it for me or assuming someone else will say it as well. If Steve had waited who knows what our world would like.

On The Radio

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Kelley Connors, host of  Real Women on Health on BlogTalk Radio today. If you missed the show and would like to listen in on what we talked about, just press play for the podcast. The topics ranged from my eclectic media consumption to how I came to write The Secrets They Kept. Thanks to Kelley for the invitation!

Listen to internet radio with kelleyconnors on Blog Talk Radio

The More Things Change

The more things change the more they stay the same.

I spent years in a world where checking numbers was part of the program. And in numbers I mean sales. How much did I sell today eventually became how much did we sell today. Technology made it all worse. Those daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports that at one time were printed on the remnants of thousands of dead trees could now be accessed with a click of a computer key, not to mention in real time.

Tracking sales, looking for trends, twisting them and bending them for purposes good or bad is a necessary business skill whether you are in the sales department or finance. And if sales is your game and management your title it can be a downright obsession that too often can take the focus off doing something to make that needle move.

I don't live in that world anymore. But as I said the more things change the more they stay the same.

With my novel officially published and available for sale on Amazon, I once again have access to up to the minute sales reports. I can tell how many e-books are being sold versus print books. I will be able to see if a guest post on another blog or a radio interview has an impact on sales. I can spend my day staring at a computer screen trying to will a bigger number or I can go market my wares to potential new readers, better yet, write something new and create more product. Yes, the obsession has returned.

But this time it feels different.




Now on sale for your reading pleasure at Amazon.com