Let Me 'Splain

Dear Reader,

I kinda sorta regret calling myself an author. I wish I had just proclaimed, "Hey! I wrote a book! You can get a copy from me or on Amazon or at various local bookstores. Yay, Me!"

Instead, I created a Facebook author page. I started "Like"ing and "Follow"ing various authors and way too many writing pages. If an author "Like"d my page, I felt obligated to "Like" his/her page in return. Now I have more than a hundred "author friends" whom I don't even vaguely know and whose books I'll probably never read. What's the point?

Almost every day I search for some article or tidbit to post on my author page, because that's just how I am. When I do something, I want to do it well. (There is probably a series of letters that explains this phenomenon [like AC/DC?], but ... whatever.) After each post, it's usually only my "real" friends and family who comment. That doesn't make me feel bad, but it makes me wonder where all the 500 friends are who "Like" my author page.

Yes, I'm still writing. It's part of who I am. But I don't know if my "scribblings" will result in another book. I'm not worried about it. What I'm "worried" about is wasting too much time on Facebook — especially with people I don't even know.

SO, I'll keep my author page, but I won't try to get more "followers." I don't even know what that means or what the benefit might be. You can "Like" my page, but I won't feel obligated to "Like" you back. I plan to go through my friend list and "get rid of" the people I don't know or haven't personally interacted with on a regular basis.

I'm guessing that, when I share this on Facebook, only my family and friends will read it, and it won't affect them (you!) anyway. But it just felt right to 'splain myself.

Sincerely,
Author Cindy Keiger 😌

It Takes a Village

When I first started toying with the idea of writing a book (almost 4 years ago), I never imagined where it would lead. All I knew was that I wanted to write. So, I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more. Then I learned about editing. So I edited. And rewrote. And edited some more. I did all of this by myself, sitting at my desk, pounding away at the keyboard when no one else was in the same room with me.

This is good work for an introvert. But, as the "book" looked more and more like it could really be a book(!), I had to start reaching out to people. Gasp. "Will you please read my book and give me honest feedback, including corrections, additions, and questions about farm stuff that doesn't make any sense to a non-farm-type person?"

It's one thing to have a book on your computer, but quite another thing to turn it into something you can hold in your hands. I had no hopes of getting a publishing house to take my book and, after lots of studying on the matter, I was pretty sure I didn't want to go that route anyway. Instead, I read many books about self-publishing. I had pages and pages of notes about what needed to be done, but if I had to learn how to do all these things, the book might still be locked up in my computer.

Enter daughter Katie, with years of computer savvy under her belt and the patience of a saint. I told her what I wanted/needed and she did it ... or gave me an idea for something even better. We spent hours working together; she in New York, I in North Carolina. The innards started to look like the real deal, complete with chapter titles, headers and footers, table of contents, source page, and even drop caps. Then she continued her magic, turning my ideas into a gorgeous, funny, eye-catching cover.

On October 31, 2015, Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional went "live" on Amazon.com. A real book was born. Then, after reaching out to the expertise of a few more people, the e-book was born on Thanksgiving Day, 2015.

I would have sat back and said, "Whew! That was fun. A lot of work, but fun!" End of story. But, no! The story was only beginning, because I have a whole village around me, encouraging me to sell, write, and get out there! A whole village of naggers ... and I'm very thankful!

My book is in five local stores, four bookstores, and one gift shop - and actually selling in all those locations. Family members carry books with them to sell to others, and friends buy the book and share it with their friends. Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional was reviewed in Yadkin Valley Living Magazine (March/April) and Foothills Times Magazine (Mar/Apr), and I was interviewed for an article that will appear in Forsyth Woman Magazine in June. I can assure you I didn't approach any of these establishments on my own. It's this village of family and friends who are pushing me to walk through the doors they've opened for me.

Local magazines are spreading my name around town.

Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC

Writing a children's devotional each month for Forsyth Family Magazine has been a "side note" blessing, again because of a friend who put my name out there. It keeps me writing without having to deal with too much crap :)

Devotion in May issue of Forsyth Family Magazine

I can take full credit for reaching out to one venue only: On June 4, I will be selling my book at NOMAD Farms Festival of the Arts in Tobaccoville, NC. Even so, I will depend on my "village" to help me find a tent to use, give me some pointers on making my little area interesting and inviting, perhaps sit with me for an hour or two during the afternoon, and then help take it all down and get me home again.

Whew! If this had depended on my marketing skills, I would have sold a handful of books. If I had relied upon Amazon's selling platform, I would have sold less than 100 books. But because of my awesome village, I have sold and/or given away almost 400 books. Writing and selling a book involves a whole lot more than I ever imagined. I'm loving it, but I couldn't have done it without a village! Thanks, peeps and neighbors, friends and relatives. You're the BEST!

Loose Ends

Yes, I've been emotionally traumatized. By a book. My book. And the world goes on as though nothing has changed.

Write, rewrite, edit, and edit some more. Figure out how to make a pile of well-organized, well-edited words look like a real book. (Thank you, Katie.) Figure out how to make the physical book into an ebook. (Thank you, d4d@detailfordesign.com) Done! Ahh, the relief of completing a project three years in the making.

I published the paperback Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional on Halloween of 2015 and then the ebook version on Thanksgiving Day.

You can read a few chapters here:

I was on a high. Friends and family were buying my book at the house and online. Local shops allowed me to display and sell my book, most of them without taking a percentage. I even did a booksigning at Pages Books in Mt. Airy, NC.

Things have settled down now, and I'm trying to return to Normal, but I can't seem to find Normal on the map anymore. I don't write, except for my morning devotional/journal entries. Housework holds no appeal. I thought about making a quilt. Key word: thought.

If I'm really an author, or really want to present myself as an author, I have lots of work to do. I need to learn how to use Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, and Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn all to good advantage so the whole world will know who I am and will want to read my book.

Book. Not books. Can I write another book? Not unless I start writing, of course. Oh, Whoa Is Me. (You'll have to read Chapter 19 in Crap Happens to get the inside scoop [the poop] on that phrase.)

I have taken up coloring, but I can only color for so long. I've been working on this beauty for three days now. I'm pretty sure it's not my life's calling—simply a delightful diversion from wondering what I should be doing.

Loose ends: restless, unsettled, without a clear purpose.
Cindy: restless, unsettled, without a clear purpose.

Writing is hard. Even taking the time to write this blog post was hard. But I think I have to give it a try. See if the daily exercise of writing ties up those loose ends, knitting them into something meaningful and enjoyable.

But I still don't want to learn the fine details of promoting myself on all those social media sites. I'll just write for the enjoyment of writing. If family and friends want to tag along and see what I'm up to, that's good enough for me.

2015 In Review

This evening, Baba Wawa will be presenting The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2015. Since the year is drawing to a close, I thought it only fitting that I present The 10 Most Memorable Events of 2015. They may mean nothing to you or Baba Wawa, but they are memorable to me. Since this is my blog, I can write whatever I want. Rather than counting down to the Number One Memorable Event, my list is chronological, beginning at the beginning of the year and ending at the end.

#1. Both of my daughters and I went to Arizona in early February. What a treat! We saw my parents; my oldest brother, his wife and kids, and their grandkids; friends from Minnesota who now live in AZ; and an aunt and cousins I hadn't seen in about a hundred years. Every day was gorgeous and delightful and crazy. I love my family.

#2. A beautiful February snow in North Carolina. The snow covers a multitude of sins and turns the farm into a fairy tale.

#3. Roger & Eunice, friends from Minnesota, stopped by for a visit. They just happened to be in the area :) We had a wonderful time together, but they'll have to come back. It was so foggy/cloudy they couldn't see Pilot Mountain - not from the farm and not from the mountain itself!

#4. Rita had four kittens in April. That's not an oddity, but she had them in the attic! Totally not allowed. It's a long, goofy story, but all's well that ends well. They were born in the attic, but they don't live there. Yay!

#5. In July I went on a mission trip (through World Changers) to Philadelphia with the youth from our church. We had a great time, but I think I'm getting too old to be hanging out with these young whippersnappers. My time was spent at a Haitian church and I really enjoyed it—speaking Creole and eating Haitian food.

#6. Also in July, the introduction to my book Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional was published in Viga Boland's magazine Memoirabilia. You could say I was a little excited. If you look really carefully, you might be able to see my name listed on the cover.

#7. Vacation! Yes, we went to Minnesota in 2014, but Weldon said we were going again this year. I didn't argue. Like the previous year, we flew into MN, drove to IA where his uncle and cousin live, drove up through WI so I could see some of my friends, and then into MN to see my family. I love my family. Did I already mention that?

I love my family, but the photos above don't show my family :) Except for Weldon, of course, and he deserves a photo in this list of most memorable events. Anyway, it's my blog, remember?

#8. In October, I went to see Katie in NY. We did our usual eating and running around, plus we spent a day working on the cover of my book. I also got to meet her kitty cat, Sugar.

Since I flew out of Charlotte, I got to see Anna on both ends of my little trip.

#9. I became a published author! I published my book Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional on Halloween. I published the ebook version on Thanksgiving Day. I've sold over 200 copies, but have only eight reviews on Amazon. Such is life. You can buy it on Amazon. Then you can leave a review ... please :) In December I had my first book signing. It was a lot of fun.

#10. Last, but certainly not least, I got to see my grandson Marshall earlier this month. He'll be 17 in March, but I still make him take the back-to-back photos with me so I can see how he's grown. We had a great time together, shopping, eating, and going to a movie together. I love my family.

2015 - What a year it's been. I'm incredibly blessed and so thankful for my life and the good health to enjoy all I've been given. And a new year lies just around the corner.
2016 - It's gonna be an awesome year.