Bloggers Being Helpful

 

Alright, I’m loath to mention it, but that book I keep going on about, the book pictured  on the right side of this post is a constant source of worry to me. In the olden days, I understand, some fella or fellarine had a book published, and then there was a short interlude while they examined the boat timetables, and soon after that they were on the banks of the River Seine drinking cocktails and swapping edgy observations with those who, it would be discovered, were among the great artistic figures of their age. Now things are slightly different.

Your book is published and, sure enough, as if you had dropped a brick into a hen-coop, there is some squawking and fluttering of wings but very soon, if you are not careful, a deathly silence can settle over your world once more, and those extra copies you ordered by mistake remain the largest living testament to your outpouring. There is an antidote to this malaise, and it is called ‘Marketing’: just getting out there and spreading the word,  which can be harder than you think. Still, I saw on other Blogs that nifty folk had put a link to their book up on the side of their Blog and I said to myself, “Could I do that?”  and of course the answer was “No”.

Up pops one Julie Angelos Lama, whose Blog http://julieangelos.com I have been following since shortly after the birth of the typewriter or certainly very early in Blogging History. She has been a steady and encouraging friend, who firstly pushed and prompted me to write a book and then, when I was bleating somewhere about not being able to work with ‘Links:/ linky things.com  sent me a very patient email with simple  1- 2- 3 steps to get the whole thing working and , “Hey Presto” there it is.  As well as her, other Blogging chums have produced very positive and helpful reviews, all of which can be seen on Amazon, or via that FB button which I got up there through Julie’s help some months ago.

Disregarding the book or any precise event, the help that people can give you, and the way they might reach out and support you when you are in difficulties, or doing something new is both inspiring and amazing. Anyone who thinks the friends you make via Blogging are not part of your living and supportive community should see my face when I see evidence of good wishes and how helpful people can be. In a modern and complex world it reinforces the simple power of community.