SPAM

I am sure that I don’t need to fill out another home mortgage, or get some money from a lawsuit over some drug that I may or may not have taken in the last twenty years, but still the stuff overflows my spam/junk email folder. Sometimes I get quite the chuckle over it.  After all, I have recently been asked to find Singles over 50, Black Singles in my area, and have my penis enlarged (which honestly would be pretty interesting since I don’t have one.).  In fact, I was thrilled to learn that the spam world thought I was available and maybe even good looking enough to score a date with someone!  But when I checked to see ithey had even sent it to my own email address, I noticed that it was one of those mass emails to everyone that is close in email address to my own.  I didn’t even see my address listed there.  Guess I am not really that perfect for someone over 50!

Spam mail serves a purpose. It puts the company’s name out there. Even as I am deleting the stuff from my junk folder, I am noticing it in subtle ways.   As an author, self-promotion is a big deal.  We have to throw ourselves out to the people who would be interested in buying our books, learning about who we are, or connecting with us in some way so that they might shell out the money to buy or talk about our book.  We blog, run contests, and try to snag top reviews because every little bit counts. When one person talks to one person, then that person talks to someone, well, you know how that goes, and have probably seen the little picture representation that they show with how disease spreads.  :)

We spend a lot of time talking about the things we enjoy, the food that we make and tell horror stories of our writing.  We give away prizes, covers, free books, swag so that you will keep us in your minds and hearts.  We share the things (pictures and quotes) that make us laugh and anecdotes from our families.  In turn we become your friends.  We are people just like you trying to make things work in this crazy world.  
 
I’ve been fortunate to get to know some pretty amazing authors. I love their writing and their personalities.  In turn through conversations, we have supported each other and made us all a little stronger.  That is what self-promotion is really all about. We want to be accepted for the work we put in and are happy if our story touches one person.  We aren’t spam, but friendly, warm-hearted, caring people who want nothing more than to share the worlds we create in our minds with you.