To Blog or Not To

[John Misak]

I can't say I have ever blogged before, and that might be shocking considering the fact that I stay on the cutting edge of technology and the Internet and all that. Well, maybe that means it is shocking for me, but for all of you who wouldn't know me from a Thomas' English Muffin, no shock I presume.

Anyway, I am going through a great/tough period in my life, the time when my book is about to hit the shelves. I've been through this before, but I bumbled it a bit, not knowing what to do. Publishers do a little, but very little. They have a budget, of course, and I don't begrudge them. That means it's up to the author.

I am busy proofing ads, setting up book signings, getting invites out for the book launch party. It's sort of the stuff you dream about when you are aspiring, and I still enjoy it, but there's so much to do I am sometimes unable to start anything. I am setting up a book tour, and just picking places to go to can be a hassle. good hassle, yes, but hassle nonetheless. Preconceived notions of states and areas pop into my head. I try to remember that just as New Yorkers aren't like what other areas think we are like, people from the South, Midwest, and such are different than I imagine.

Try getting a bookstore manager on the phone. Then, try not to sound like a telemarketer. Sell yourself, but not so much. Sound excited, but not deranged. Get a signing booked, and try not to forget the Communions, Christenings, and all the other family stuff. Be sure to leave a weekend open for the girlfriend. Then call the book store back because you forgot your Aunt Ethel's 75th birthday is the same day. Maybe her son will make it a surprise party like he always does, trying to get that inheritance early.

Don't get me wrong, in the end all of this is fun. But I am sitting at my computer right now, where I am supposed to be looking up contacts, blogging instead. My first blog. I will try to keep it updated.