Okay, I’ve been acting like a big baby over this. And it’s so totally out of my character, I can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. I’m a very easy going person who lets most things kind of roll off my back, and I rarely let things get me down. I’ve had some hard days at work, so that might have added to my angst, but it’s no excuse for feeling the way I have been.
You see, I didn’t check in yesterday for ROW80 because I was hurt and discouraged. Why? Because my last post was about a Valentine’s giveaway (it runs through Saturday) for three free books, my Libby Fox series…and NO ONE requested the books. NO ONE. I had two authors drop by and say hi, but they didn’t ask for the books either. I do appreciate their comments, though. And I do realize that a lot of the people who follow my blog already have my books. I found that out when I did my birthday giveaway. But I would have thought at least one or two people would ask for the books. I noticed that there were a couple of other people giving away books and weren’t having much luck either, so maybe I’m not alone. But when I see a free book giveaway, especially when all you have to do is comment, I usually jump on that. I’m actually SELLING the books, so I guess I shouldn’t be hurt over no one wanting them for free, but it just hit me the wrong way, I guess.
Anyway, it was silly for me to get so upset over this. Really silly. And I’m sorry for that. I don’t know why I felt like I needed to even post about this; I guess I just needed the outlet. And it’s MY blog, after all. LOL. So I hope to get back on track and do a ROW80 post on Sunday. I’ll surely be back to my old happy, optimistic self by then. I guess we all have bad times every once in awhile. I was due one. π
Valentine’s day is actually a bad time to have a giveaway just because that’s one of the few times when I think people will unplug, let their inbox fill up, their feed readers get clogged, in the name of spending time with their honey. So a bunch of folks may still be behind on catching up.
I was just being a big baby anyway. I’ve been uncharacteristically angsty the past few days. It’s just a thing, I think. I can’t be Pollyanna all the time. LOL
Thanks for pointing out the bad timing. It makes a lot of sense that people would be unplugged on Valentine’s Day. That’s one of the reasons I kept it open until Saturday. π
That’s what I was thinking. There are probably better days to offer a freebie and like you said, the books are selling, so you could always try it for another time.
Yeah, Andrew, probably bad timing. I noticed on Twiiter, someone tweeted “doesn’t ANYONE want to win a free book?” So it wasn’t just me. I hope. LOL
I apologize Lauralynn, I was not really around much yesterday and had no time to check the blogs that came in because I was at the hospital with my daughter. She needed to have the stitches in her fingers checked.
Oh, Alex, I wasn’t upset with any individuals. I just felt so weird about it. You have to take care of family before ANYTHING. I hope your daughter is ok!
She is doing good thanks. She got two ingers caught in a door on Saturday and as good as amputated the top knuckle on both. She’s a tough little girl though and has carried on as normal with her bandages. Doctors were really pleased with her progress and said she will fully recover. Thank God. Hopefully being as young as she is she won’t have any latant nighmares or so later.
I think we can all feel invisible at times. On top of Kait’s point, there were also a lot of blogs written on Valentines, so people might be behind on that count, too. I know I haven’t made it around to comment as often as I’d like. I read all of your posts, and always have something to say — it’s just that I read my email on my phone and it’s a real pain to post comments from my phone. I really appreciate you, Lauralynn — you’re a really wonderful person to know. π
Awww, J.R., you’re so sweet. π I know people were busy and ARE busy. I don’t know why it was such a big thing with me this time. I was just out of sorts.
I know what you mean about posting on your phone. I was part of a giveaway that someone hosted, and I had all these comments…except I was at Disney World at the time. You should have seen me trying to respond to comments while standing in line at the rides. LOL
π¦ Lauralynn!!! I am so sorry… I love your blog.. I really do! Valentine’s Day was crazy!!
No worries, Darlene. I’m just being silly. LOL. Valentine’s Day is usually crazy. I wonder if part of my sad feelings had to do with my husband having to work on that day, and we only got to exchange cards and candy before he left that night. π
Lauralynn, I will join everyone else in apologizing! I have been so swamped with everything that I missed reading your blog. I have been a really bad friend to all my ROW friends the past few weeks :(, even those like you who are so supportive of me and my bad moods!
Also, like J.R., I can read on my phone, but my comments turn into Sanskrit!
It is really weird that no one commented–I think Kait and Andrew may be right about some of the reasons.
Elizabeth, you have WAY too much on your plate to worry about apologizing to me! In fact, I feel kind of guilty for not commenting on anyone’s blog yesterday because of my silliness. This is just not like me! Bleh. I just hope things are getting better for you.
Well you know I love you! π
Of course you do. I love you, too. And you’ve also already read all my books. LOL
You’re adorable! I will respectfully decline your coupon code because I’m downloading Dark Relic to my Nook right now π I have been wanting to read it and was going to purchase it anyway. I set a goal of a book a week this year (I’m a slow reader so this is actually hard for me lol) and one of the things I wanted to do was check out some fellow ROWers works. Don’t feel bad – we all shout into the black hole of the internet and get no response at times. It might feel silly to be upset, but I’m sure many writers have the same reaction and are not brave enough to say so.
Thank you so much, Lauren! It’s very nice of you to buy Dark Relic…especially when you could have gotten it free. LOL.
I would like to read a book a week. That’s why I pick shorter works a lot. I don’t necessarily read slowly, but I don’t find myself with a lot of time to actually sit down and READ. π¦
I cracked up about what you said “but Iβm sure many writers have the same reaction and are not brave enough to say so.” I’m bad about telling TOO much about how I feel sometimes. I’m not sure if it’s brave or rash. LOL
Aw, no, don’t feel down about it. As others said, some days are just bad for internet stuff, and a lot of readers probably don’t follow blogs regularly during the week.
And for the record, I have your books already, but I wouldn’t have asked for a freebie even if I didn’t because I get a kick out of the idea of buying a book and giving the rank a little boost. That probably sounds incredibly stupid, but there ya go. π
Thanks, Claire! You’re a jewel!
It’s really not stupid to want to give the ranks a boost. I’ve bought several books by fellow ROW80ers (and are waiting for some to come out), and I’m trying to get through my TBR pile as quickly as possible so I can read and review. Oh how I wish there were more hours in the day! (Or that I didn’t have a full time job, LOL.)
I didn’t realize how many silly demarcations I’d internalized until I read this post. Since becoming a writer, I’ve listened hard to advice about being a writer, not a reader- therefore don’t respond to reviewers, don’t comment on bad reviews, etc., that I have stopped thinking of myself as a reader at all, even though I do read, extensively; very often (in fact, almost exclusively) my fellow Indies. It just didn’t occur to me, therefore, that your contest was open to the likes of me. Silly, I know, but I made sure to comment and encourage about the contest, and didn’t ask for copies because, like Claire, I feel like I should buy the books I don’t already have. So sorry your feeling were hurt! And thank you for eye-opening post!
Vicki, I was actually very pleased that you commented. At the time I posted, you and Jon were the only people who even said anything. I didn’t even think about how busy everyone would be on Valentine’s Day since my hubby and I didn’t get to do anything.
This thing about readers and writers…it’s strange sometimes. Once an author I know said that it was fine to have other writers follow your blog, but your real audience is the reader. I’ve always thought of writers as readers, too, but I kind of know what she meant. She was talking about how we all get in this little community and talk to each other instead of reaching out for the readers. Personally, I want to interact with both…fellow authors AND readers. And sometimes they are the same people! π
Don’t mind me. I was just being angsty. LOL
I am so sorry, Lauralynn! We (your fellow ROW80’s) should have at least stopped by and announced that we have your books and give a little plug!
I wonder if many bloggers weren’t on for the big heart day…?? I was. I don’t do much for Valentine’s Day…other than blog…haha.
I think you should run the giveaway again…and we can all advertise for you ahead of time.
Thanks, Nadja! After I did this post I thought most people would think I was being so silly. But I’ve had a lot of blog love today, and I really appreciate all my online friends. I’m glad no one said I was a big dork for feeling the way I did. LOL
I’ll do another giveaway someday. Btw, I appreciate you commenting on the guest posts J.R. and I did. You were the only one that commented on either one of them. Hahahahahahaha.
Believe me, I was feeling a bit ‘fotch-faced’ myself…I, as well as my novella, Her Dark Baron, got trashed on Amazon…uhm, yeah, it was ugly. Anyway, after a chat with my hilarious sister and a nice mug of hot tea, I was right as rain again.
I’ve got some serious editing to accomplish today. About 65% done with edits. It’s hard for me to not get antsy at this point. I am so near the end.
Oh my, I just read that review you were talking about. People who write reviews like that have a real emotional problem, in my opinion. I would never trash anyone like that. And anyone who would pay attention to something like that isn’t your targeted reader anyway. You don’t need those kinds of readers. I noticed that 2 out of 2 people found the review helpful. I suspect that the reviewer either did that herself or got others to do that so her review would show up first. This is the only thing she’s ever reviewed, so i wonder if she’s a jealous author. There are so many things this could be about, but I think it’s just some kind of outlet for her. I enjoyed Her Dark Baron a lot.
When I got my first bad review, I was stunned. It really knocked me for a loop. I almost stopped writing! (Silly me.) Then some very wise authors told me to stop reading my reviews. I still read them every once in awhile, but not often. And I don’t let bad ones bother me anymore.
Ha! Yeah…I was expecting to come upon some unfovorable reviews..it’s only natural that all books won’t appeal to all people. That was just scathing…I can’t help but laugh a little over it. As my sister said, “Schultz, you certainly made an impression on somebody!” I don’t usually read reviews unless the reviewer sends me a link, …..I was given the same advice you were. Hmmm, maybe I’ll start following it again…ha!
Thanks for reading it anyway…for some reason, I had to share that with another writer. ;}
unfavorable…that is…;)
I didn’t even know you had this contest. I am now following your blog to keep updated. I have your books so I’m doing the next best thing: I’m passing on your contest to my readers on my blog. A good number of them read paranormals, so I hope that boosts your entries. π
Thanks, Ruth Ann! I appreciate the shout outs. π
Sorry, but I figured I better buy them for all the things you do for me. As soon as I can figure and get everything loaded on this new computer I’ll be ordering them. I’ll hopefully get caught up on everything I need to read; which is a lot of stuff. Sorry I didn’t ask for them. But did you and your hubby do anything fun for Valentines?
Peace
Hi Jon. At least you commented. π
Jim and I just exchanged cards and candy. He had to work. π¦
Crud. You were giving away free books, and I missed it. I only blog on Wednesdays and Fridays. I often miss a lot of the Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday blogs. No matter. I will buy the books. That’s better for you anyway. π
No, Catie, the giveaway is good through tomorrow. Let me know if you want the coupon codes if you haven’t bought them already. I’m happy to give them to you. π
Done. I did the reply on the giveaway page. Thanks so much for letting me know I could still do it. π