Book Giveaway, Alex's Awesome Surprise, & the IWSG

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, time for

Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group

But first…the results for my blog tour book giveaway!

There were 76 entries total, way more than I anticipated.  My thanks to all for dropping by and commenting during my tour.  Your support means everything to me! 

All right then, I wrote down the names of every follower who commented, assigned each a number, then used Random.org to generate the winning numbers, starting first with the runner-ups.

Those five runner-up winners of an ebook copy of The Mistaken are:

#18      Samantha May

#52      Chris Fries

#48      Klahanie

#38      L. Diane Wolfe

#64      Emily R. King

And the grand prize winner of my last signed ARC of The Mistaken is:

#66      Julie Luek

Winners, please contact me at acadia1997@msn.com

so I can get your info and send out your prize.

One more thing before my brief IWSG post:

Did you happen to see Alex J. Cavanaugh’s post last Monday?  Alex is one of three published authors who “blurbed” for my book.  His name and quote appear on the very first page along with Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep and Freak and New York Times bestselling author, Kevin O’Brien.

Alex said, “That’s even more exciting than my name on the cover of my own books.”  I sent him a signed copy with a nice little note of thanks for both his blurb and for being the driving force behind my blog tour and helping me every step of the way.  I could not have done it without him!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALEX!!

Okay, so now that I’ve accomplished my goal and have published my debut novel, I find myself worrying more than I ever thought I would.  Sure, I told myself it really didn’t matter how well my book sold.  I just wanted to get it out there.  But yeah, it kinda doesn’t work that way, at least, not in my mind. 

I want people to read it.  And I want those who do to love it, or at least like it, even just a little bit.  But more than anything, I want readers to rate/review it on Amazon and Goodreads.  So now I have a whole new slew of things to worry about:  Is it selling, will they like it, and will they spread the word?  It’s really way too early in the game for me to be obsessing over these things.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  Still, it’s there.  *sigh*

But oooh, look!  I have 499 GFC followers!

Maybe I’ll do another ebook giveaway once I reach 500. 

  

Any suggestions on how to do that one?

A to Z Challenge: Reflections Post

Well, I’ve had a week to rest up after the 2012 A to Z Challenge, and boy, did I ever need it.  I never expected the Challenge to be so…well…challenging.  It wasn’t having to write all those blog posts either.  For me, that was a snap compared with all the reading and commenting I did.  That’s where all my real energy went.  And I suppose that’s where most of my complaints lie, as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the Challenge, it’s just that I don’t think I reaped what I sowed.  I’m not sure how many new followers I gained, but in comparison to how many new connections I made, to how many new blogs I followed, it was a pittance.  I chock that up to the number of newbie bloggers I followed overall.  I want to believe these neophytes don’t understand the concept behind returning the favor. 

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, and I certainly do not expect every blogger I follow to answer in kind, but when a blogger only has a handful of followers and someone shows up, reads their post, then comments on the content, I think they should at least stop by for a return visit.  But, it is what it is, and I can’t change how others respect the principles of etiquette.  No hard feelings.  I just sometimes wish it was as easy to find and unfollow blogs as it is to do the same on Twitter.  Maybe someone should come up with a Blogger edition of ManageFlitter.

I will say, though, that I did meet a lot of wonderful people, mostly other writers like me.  I found their blogs informative, funny, and educational.  Some just wanted to make a connection, like me, to someone who was interested in the same things they were.  I like those folks, and I loved the generous spirit of their blogs.  Ultimately, that’s why I chose to participate in the A to Z. 

I must say, though, that there were a lot of irritating things about trolling through the list of participants.  For one, that list?  Yeah, way too long!  Insanely unmanageable.  I think I would have liked to see some way to classify the blogs.  I mean, personally, I was searching for writing or writer blogs, folks like me.  I wasn’t too interested in the knitting or crocheting or quilting blogs or what have you.  Yet I often couldn’t tell just by looking at the blog title.  So I tuned in only to take a quick peek around and dash on back out if it just didn’t interest me.  It would be time-saving to have the blogs listed by content, nature, or subject.

Other than that, the things that were like a burr under my saddle were:

• Google Friend Connect not allowing me to follow and constantly having to re-sign in
• Music that starts blaring the moment I tune into a new blog and then not being able to turn it off.  (Hey, not everyone likes your taste in music, so why alienate people?)
• Bloggers NOT turning off that blasted Word Verification feature…argh!!
• Double Word Verification for each blog I want to follow after following more than a certain number during that day.
• Bloggers who didn’t take the Challenge seriously and keep up, only posted a few times, or didn’t post at all even though they were listed.
• Listing a blog that was private and would only allow invited guests to read.  Why enter the Challenge if your blog is private?
• A blogger not attaching their blog to their profile so I could visit and possibly follow back.

Each and every one of these items made me sigh and roll my eyes.  I’m not sure what’s up with Google Friend Connect or if anyone else had the same problem I had, (and still have) with following blogs, but I found it very frustrating not to be able to connect with a good blogger.  But overall, I had a good time and I met some extraordinary people.

The big question, of course, is will I do it again?  At this point, I’m not sure.  Probably not if there isn’t some way to classify the blogs by subject.  But then again, I’m always up for a good party and the A to Z is the biggest of the year.  I do want to thank all those who dropped by and left comments, whether or not you followed.  I love comments more than anything. 

And to the one man who came back every single day without fail and left a kind comment—Alex Cavanaugh—my crush is stronger than ever!!