BLOGVERSARY GIVEAWAY AND REFLECTIONS ON FIRST YEAR OF BLOGGING

First, I'll announce the winner of WILDWOOD. The winner is:

SHARON MAYHEW!

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started blogging. I’m doing a giveaway to celebrate. But before I get to that, I want to share some things I’ve learned from my first year.

 

1. Do you ever get beaten over the head with a lesson? For me, it’s that things happen when they are meant to be. This has happened to me a number of times with important events in my life. Years ago I fretted about not getting promoted to a manager at my job. But by the time I had a chance at a promotion, I realized it wasn’t right for me or my family. It was like the universe was looking out for me.

 And when my husband and I made the decision to adopt, I was so impatient for the process to be completed. But adoption is a WAIT. Like getting an agent and being published. Sometimes I would go to such extremes to speed up the process like drive 3 hours to our capital before work (yes, I really did that) to get documents authenticated that would have been returned in a few days if they were mailed. In the end, we had to wait longer anyway because of an organizational change in the Chinese governmental departments that processed the adoptions. But it worked out for the best because my daughter is the perfect kid for our family.

 

It’s been the same with blogging. I’d been reading blogs and commenting for years. I actually planned to start a blog the year before but got too busy planning a big family reunion for my mom’s 80^th birthday. It worked out SO much better not to start a blog on my own. Again the universe knew better than me. Hopefully it’ll be the same with getting an agent and getting published.

2.  Casey is the best blog partner I could ask for. I’ll share a secret Casey doesn’t even know unless she reads this. I secretly wished to be her blog partner for at least a year before she posted that she was looking for a partner. I even thought about it a month before she posted her request. But I never asked because of those negative things we tell ourselves, like she wouldn’t  want a partner, she wouldn’t want me, etc. Like what we tell ourselves about our writing sometimes.

 

Seriously, Casey is so awesome! She’s mentored me in how to post a blog post, how to paste a picture, etc. and even e-mailed me detailed instructions. I wouldn’t have had a clue how to do anything without her help. Even with her help, it felt as scary the first time I posted as when I electronically started filing bankruptcy petitions and pleadings. But at least here if I make a mistake there’s no clerk looking to e-mail a DEFICIENCY NOTICE. (Thankfully I don’t get many of those and they can be fixed.)

 

And she’s let me do exactly what I always envisioned I’d do with blogging—promote authors, mostly debut and middle grade, interview kids, and do an occasional personal post. 

 

Seriously, she is such a nice person. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. I hope one day we get to meet in person. But it’s so cool how we’ve gotten to be friends through e-mail.

 

3.  You guys are so awesome and supportive. It’s been amazing watching our blog grow and making so many new friends this year. I love the blogging community of both writers and book review bloggers. I’m grateful for your friendship.

 

4.  Finally, I’ve realized that blogging is work, even blogging once a week. Like a lot of work. And it does take away from writing. But I really enjoy reading the books and making connections with all the authors I’ve interviewed. And I admire those of you who blog daily or a couple times a week.

So now to my giveaway. First, I’m giving away two copies of THE SCORPIO RACES, one with a swag bracelet I won. As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater.

I’m also giving away some older books that I hope you’ll enjoy. Sorry, my husband might get upset if I go on another Book Depository shopping spree. Here’s the choices. 

So what have you all learned from blogging if you blog?

And to enter the contest, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the followbutton if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by midnight on February 18th. Tell me your top two choices and I'll try to match the books to the winners. I’ll announce the winner on February 20th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment.International entries are welcome.

If you mention this contest on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook, please let us know in the comments and we’ll give you an extra entry.

 Here's what's coming up. Next Monday I'm interviewing debut author Kristen Simmons with a giveaway of her debut book ARTICLE 5. The following Monday I'm interviewing a teen for my ASK THE EXPERT series who is a debut published author and giving away a copy of her book and an ARC of another recently published YA book I know you'll want.

So hope to see you next Monday!

Two-Year Blogiversary & Happy Easter

Two years ago today, I started Literary Rambles like this.  I didn't think the blog would last.  I had nothing to say.  I kept wondering, "What kind of writer am I?  I don't even know what to write on my blog!" (still true, most of the time).  I never dreamed I would be celebrating the blog's two-year anniversary with so many friends and encouragers.   Who knew I'd meet so many awesome people, feel such a sense of community, or have such a great opportunity to give back?  Not me.  But here we are. 

Last month was Agent Spotlight's one-year anniversary, too.  That means there are over 50 agent profiles on the blog now.  Over 50!  Holy Moly. I wasn't sure the feature would last past a few months.  I was terrified to put it out there and put my name on it (would it really be useful?!? What would the agents think?!?), but I felt it was something writers could use, knew deep down it was a good idea, so I went with it.  And you encouraged me.  It has its issues but it's become a pretty amazing resource.  I have a lot of fun putting the profiles together, learning about the agents, and helping all of you on your journeys toward publication.

I think writing goes much the same way.  If you keep at it even when you don't know what you're doing, surround yourself with friends and encouragement, and stay open to change and improvement, success in some measure will eventually come of it.  Maybe it's not what you were expecting (better or worse) and maybe some have put you down along the way... but you got there.  You took a chance, you worked for it, and other people believe in it.  I don't think success should be held any higher than that. 

Anyway, I feel like this is as much your anniversary as it is mine and the blog's.  I wouldn't still be blogging and putting profiles and posts together every week if it weren't for you and your encouragement, enthusiasm, and contributions. 

So, Happy Anniversary to Literary Rambles and its Friends, and Happy Easter to all who celebrate!  I'd like to do a contest/giveaway sometime soon in celebration, so feel free to offer up some ideas and tell me what your favorite kinds of contests are. 

One-Year Blogiversary

Today is Literary Rambles' one-year blogiversary. Party at my blog! I'm thrilled with how far both the blog and I have come in the last year, and want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and/or comment.

Virtual confetti and cake all around!

Also, head on over to The Bookshelf Muse. They are celebrating 50,000 hits today, and if you comment on their 50k post by Monday you have a chance to win a signed copy of WAITING TO SCORE by J.E. Macleod.

Woot! April 3rd is just a celebratory kind of day.

Have a great weekend everyone!