Celebrate Good Times...C'Mon! It's a Celebration!

Happy Anniversary to my Book (why not?)!

    The month of November has nearly passed and I have been negligent (shame on me) in a celebration. One year ago, a package was delivered to my front door. Of course, I knew what was inside, but I opened it with slow anticipation. I took out the paperback version of my novel, “Once in Every Generation.“ (Taking out the e-version would have been just plain, well ...  ludicrous.)
    As I near the completion of a year, I like to reflect on what I have accomplished and what I have yet to accomplish, in relation to my writing. A big achievement is that I became very busy social networking, by creating the following:
    My website: I check weekly which countries are visiting, which states, and which cities within those states. I marvel that Slovenia and Latvia have checked me out, but not Arkansas or South Dakota.
    My blog: I find this the most interesting of all the sites because I exercise my writing (good or bad) and often get feedback.
    Facebook: Fun, fun, fun. I have about 1800 friends, some of which I feel that I can actually call friends. When I travelled to London, I spent an evening with a few whom I had met on FB. I am in a few multiple sclerosis support pages, and we truly do lean on each other. Of course, I’ve reconnected with friends from years long past. But, most important of all, I’ve learned how to play Texas Hold’Em.
    LinkedIn: Not-so much. Haven’t got a handle on that yet.
    Twitter: I talk and talk and am not sure anyone is actually listening. Frankly, I’m not sure I know what I’m doing anyway. Basically, I am not very tech-savvy, but I am learning.
    My YouTube hits on the book trailer have been pretty impressive (over 1400 – not exactly “gone viral”), but only 39 comments have been left. Not sure how to interpret that.
    Now sales, on the other hand, I can interpret.  I am more than pleased that I have recouped the monies I have put into the publishing of the novel. Though I still work at publicizing it and must continue to do so, it seems to have reached a tipping point and taken on a life of its own. As I wrote in a previous blog post, I can now put time and effort into writing my second novel, which I have begun.
    My most satisfying moment this past year came from a woman who lives in New Zealand. She contacted me through my website. She told me that she has MS, and that she loved my book. She was going to give it to her mother-in-law, so that her M-I-L would finally understand what it was that MS caused her to go through on a daily basis (and perhaps become a bit more companionate toward her).  Very touching.
    So, I would say that my favorite triumph of this year is reaching people around the globe and touching them on some level. Doing my small part in raising multiple sclerosis awareness and helping people in overcoming their own varied challenges.
    Now, what I have yet to accomplish is to finish my second novel, so (*patting myself on the back* - *slapping myself on the wrist*) until the next post, I’m off to write!