Vera Constantineau

We writers are all awash in social media. Some part of our involvement can be attributed to the isolation of our writing lives, another part is the need to network as writers and prepare for the day we launch our book babies.

There’s a fine line between marketing and overmarketing. I don’t want to be the person who one day posts for the fifth or twentieth time and, by doing so, causes everyone on my followers list to groan inwardly. That said, if we are published by a House, as I am, I owe it, by the letter of the contract, to promote my book and all that entails.   

Returning to the title above, and the issue of responses, it’s my belief that the old axiom, “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all” really should be adhered to. I get that we all write in a variety of genres, but to be a Negative Nelly is completely unnecessary. There is nothing wrong with the decision to let the post on your friends page go by. Saying nothing is an option that is often not chosen enough. Not everything we writers set on a page is golden, we get that.

I recently read a book by one of my favorite authors and it was ho-hum. I added it to my list of books I’ve finished for the Goodreads challenge and gave it fewer stars than other books, but I didn’t go into deep detail as to reasons why. The star system charts the way for us on Goodreads, no need to be cutting. Also, it behooves us to remember that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into the writing of a novel. If we have not walked a mile in that writer’s footwear under the desk, we have no business being judgy. Okay, hopefully there is no blood beyond the occasional paper cut involved in book writing, still you get the drift.

Sometimes I do take the time to ponder why such a simple post will garner a feisty, or rude, response. Today, for example, I’ve been pondering. At other times I let the rude slide and chalk it up to me creating a dialogue where not everyone has to agree. I did find myself torn by the latest occurrence in the Neg. Nel. vein, however. I’ve decided slide is the only option, someone else’s unhappiness is not my problem to solve, is it

The last thing I need is another calendar. I’ve got a big one devoted to keeping all my meetings on track and it works like a charm. And yet, I carted home a prop-up desk calendar yesterday, complete with an inspiration on each square. It was the title that hooked me, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.

I’ve got a lot going on, meetings aside. In a month and four days, I am sending my book baby out into the world. Every day I think of something new to wonder about. Will there be people? Will the book arrive on time? Will it be well received? You can see where I’m going with this, I’m sweating all the small stuff and a lot of it is the stuff I can’t control.

The venue is booked and the chef assures me the food will be great. The sample readings I’ve done of a few pieces got the response I was hoping for. Still, there must be something I’ve missed on the yards long list of things I must do before the day arrives.

Back to the calendar. Since today is March 11^th and the calendar is a 2023, I have some catching up to do. I started taking the previously passed days off the pad and stalled on the words of January the 4^th. That one square had impact. It was about first impressions. I wondered what kind of first impression I would make, then I remembered it was highly likely anyone who shows up to a book launch has already met you and, dare I say, liked your impression, or they wouldn’t be at your launch? I don’t mean that to sound egotistical, if it does, I apologize. I’m simply saying, those who know me, do. Those who don’t won’t likely be there. I ripped that sweaty moment off the calendar pad and moved along. I may have muttered, “Small stuff, small stuff.”

The updates on the launch planning etc. will arrive in a speedier fashion, or so I hope. I could get sidetracked by another piece of advice from my desktop calendar, or I could skip ahead to my birthday and see what that day says. I’m pondering. No, I believe I’ll rip them off two at a time and before you know it, I’ll be up to date and this paper antiperspirant will be working like magic.   

I’m currently in a workshop on how to use social media to market your book. The first point made was not to use social media as a sales site, so, Dear friends on Facebook who follow me at Vera Constantineau Author, on Instagram following me with veraconstantineau please ignore everything I’ve said to you about my book launching on April 15th 2023 and also, never mind that I’ve shown you the GREAT cover

Here’s a picture of a restaurant with no one in it. Which is a metaphor of a book launch with no guests because i failed to plug my book… Well, as for the restaurant, I was there, I took the photo. Have a good evening.

I’m an optimistic person. I anticipate remaining so despite having had a house filled with Covid. In late October my husband tested positive, as did our daughter and her partner. In early November it was my turn.

Not going to lie, it was ugly, although we were the fortunate ones who didn’t have any hospital stays. The only remaining issue is a nagging cough for me, the rest have gone back to their usual hale and hearty lives. For the record, it’s coming up to a month out of my own life.

I missed things. Important things to me, not earthshaking for anyone else. I missed our on the in-person activities of Wordstock Sudbury although I was able to follow along with most of the presentations with their great hybrid festival. There were tears, it’s true. I promise myself to attend in person next year barring any unforeseen situations. I missed meetings with groups and online workshops, but mostly I missed the energy it takes to follow through with that stuff, I got wiped. I’m 95% but this *%@! Cough.

The back roads portion happens now. Since my husband recovered before me, he was kind enough to take me on a back road ride when I was feeling up for it. The trees and the bounce of gravel off our tires always makes my poetry nerve sing, but the ride was especially sweet for its healing calm. I’m grateful for his understanding of this need of mine.

If you’ve suffered the vid, you have my sympathy. I am filled with gratitude for the care we received. Having come through, I want to encourage everyone to mask it up. Protect yourself, no one else will,

I’ve been a Goodreads user for years. I liked that it helped me keep track of the books I read and the ratings I’d given each. I also set myself up for the Goodreads challenge every January. I was 7 books away from completing my goal for this year and the site locked me out. I used Facebook to log in and for some reason one was not speaking to the other. Must have been some fight.

I tried everything, but I couldn’t find a way to access my page. Finally, I gave up and created a new page where, just this evening, I added the last of the seven books I needed to finish the challenge. I’m something of a control freak so you have no idea how galling it is to have people think I didn’t finish. Oh well. I begin again.

The seven books I read this past while have been an eclectic mix, as is my way. Some literary fiction, some romance, some mystery, some thriller, some poetry. What’s your book blend?