Read My Blog … Or I’ll Kill Your Dog

I honestly do not know what it is about the word blog. I have blog options on almost all of my author community pages and I cannot, for the life of me, sit down and write anything resembling significance. Yet, I’m told by many that blogging is the thing to get into. I write as a passionate hobby, and I can journal per se. But the utter mention or consideration of the word blog makes my mind go blank. I sit there staring at the blank text box and wander off. Perhaps I’m trying too hard. It is not my intent to blog about how many loads of laundry I have ignored or how many dishes are in my sink or how much snow I have to shovel and or snowblow or how long the grass is getting (depending on the season). What is the intent of blogs and why are they so fascinating to people? Is it the fact that they get to peek into the intimate thoughts of others as voyeurs? Does the fact that my lawn mower being broken and the grass getting too high to handle, truly interest people? I can’t say that I’ve actually sat down and read anyone else’s blog. Okay … I’ve sampled some of them, (people I know … like my wife and some friends) but to be honest, my reading is quite limited and I savor those moments for books of my personal taste and interest. The other more obvious problem that I have with blogging is the fact that I have a hard enough time getting people to stay any length of time on my web site and browse all the pages, let alone see what I might have to say on my blog.Being a self-proclaimed author is not all it’s cracked up to be. Trying to get anyone to read anything anymore is a daunting task. Has the Internet really changed the way people read? I think it has to an extent. People read still, but it is information on web pages or e-books or top news stories. Have the newspapers felt the blow? I would suspect they have, but I have no statistics to proclaim such a thing.  I think people still like to get newspaper ink on their hands and still like the feel and girth of a tome opposed to full time reading on a bright, and yet somehow cold computer monitor.   Right now I’m writing in my blog so I’m not going to bother to research these proclamations of mine.

I think what it really boils down to is that there are so many options nowadays that a struggling author or artist or anyone else trying to get into the entertainment industry, is lost in the vastness of it all. The needles in the haystack.  There’s so many needles now, you can’t even find the hay.  Trying to get noticed as a single, rather unordinary anchovy in a cosmic school of fish is … what? Impossible? Timing is essential. Being in the right place at the right time. It’s an old adage of sorts. Does fate play into it, too? That would depend on whether or not you have it, I would assume. You can always try the abrasive scare tactic that I have sometimes resorted to … “Buy my book or I’ll kill your dog.” Admittedly, it doesn’t work well all the time. Not exactly a sure-fire sales pitch. But to those that do love their dogs … Anyway … I think perseverance is a strong contributor to getting noticed. Keep on keeping on. Another oldie, but goodie. And I’ve been persevering for quite a few years now. I’m not where I want to be, yet, but I’m not ready to give up either.

What are my options? Well, there’s blogging if I can get you the reader to read the damn thing. But who really is going to read my blog and then say to themselves … “Oh my God, I have to read this guy every time he has something to say. He’s so funny and smart, and charming and …” Okay … I got a little carried away there, huh? Sorry about that. I forgot to mention handsome and debonair, too.  I have some irons in the fire … I think it’s important to always have something prepared and working on. The bottom line is I wrote a novel and it’s unparallel to anything else I’ve ever done. Is it the best book in the world? No. Is it the best thing I ever wrote in my life? At this juncture, most likely and because of that, I want to see something be done with it other than self-publication. The long answer to the question is … I sure hope not, but for right now, I’m pretty darn proud of it.  I am a writer … not a salesman. And self-publication means self-promotion. I don’t want to sell myself. I just want people to read what I write. If they like it, buy my next book. If they don’t like it, don’t buy my next book. But for goodness sake, people … at least try it.

My first book was an embarrassment to me. This is sad because it has some good short stories in there, but they were unedited and really rough around the edges. This new book, Season of the Sand Devil is something completely different. First of all, it’s a novel, not a short story. Secondly there are many subplots and different characters and I wrote this one with my usual character study, but I really went into depth with this. The characters are very real and their emotions are spread out on the pages. Despite the fantastic elements that take place in the novel, it becomes believable because of the characters. The leading male protagonist isn’t the most likeable guy. But that made the story fun and challenging to write. The leading female character is very likeable, yet she’s sensitive and delicate under a slight surface of cold stone that she put there to protect herself and her feelings. The connection between these two characters became something that was just an absolute joy to write about and I think it took my writing to the next level. My only concern is whether I would ever be able to replicate something as good as this. I’d like to give a shout-out and heartfelt thanks to Eileen Alexander, the editor of the local newspaper The Coos County Democrat for her proofreading, editing, and the help she gave me from the first draft of the novel. Now … getting it out there in the world of traditional publishing so others can see what I’m bragging about. That’s the true task at hand. There’s enough dialogue in this novel that my wife came up with the idea to convert it to screenplay and try marketing it in a whole different way. Brilliant! That is in the works as we speak. Sort of.  I mean how smart is that? Let’s say it doesn’t get picked up by a traditional publisher, (although it’s sitting on the desk of one right now, but the guy pitching it died suddenly) but some big Hollywood exec reads the screenplay and wants to make the movie. Guess what? The book is already written! I can make residual sales on that, too and the work is already done! My wife is so smart! And pretty, too!

However, until it gets noticed in any venue … I guess I’ll be blogging in hopes you come to my page and actually read it to find out how long my grass is getting or whether I got the lawn mower fixed or if I ever did the dishes and the laundry.  Oy vay.   

Jody L. Campbell