Happy Blogairy First Birthday!

Happy Bloggin' Birthday NoteBook Blogairy!!!

One of the most important things I have learned in the past 12 months of doing this blog is that it is important to follow.  No, not follow other tweeps in Twitterland (even though that’s a cardinal rule!).  The following that I’m referring to is acquiescing to the wisdom of those who have gone before you and have forged a path filled with followers.

I’ll back up a bit to Christmas 2011.

One of my holiday gifts was a dangnamit Kindle Fire.  Being a staunch brick and mortar bookstore buyer and loving the feel of aging pages with a thick spine in my grubby little hands, the Kindle was total blasphemy.  And I let everyone around me know it.  It sat in the box untouched for about 3 – 4 weeks.  It was offered that it be returned so I could choose something that wouldn’t waste the giver’s money.  That hit the guilt nerve (as it was designed to) and I took it out of the box and fiddled with it.  I became very proficient at whiling away the hours playing Angry Birds with the volume on high so I could vibe off the sounds of breaking glass. <Evil snicker>

But after almost a month of this, it was shared with me that there were other uses for the device that could help me as a writer.  At this I sniggered loudly.  No electronic thing-a-ma-jiggy was going to help me with my writing career.  Hmphf.  Computers, laptops and the internet were there for that. (Yeah, go ahead and laugh at my naiveté.)

Long story short, I found a series of books that I fell in love with and devoured on the Kindle in a matter of days.  From that point on, I never looked back!  One device could act as a library of books and the weight would always be the same in my handbag!  Thick books, thin books, e-books – no matter!  I also could save trees, step more lightly on the planet and join the current century all by using this thin lightweight device called a Kindle.  How would have thunk it?

By following this trend of utilizing an e-reader, I opened myself up to a new world.  A world where sharing my writing was as easy as pressing a few buttons and waiting 12 hours to see your book available for sale.
By following sage advice, I was able to entice and engage more people and over 1,300 people now follow me on Twitter.

Through following the many steps involved in building one’s follower base, blogging regularly, engaging others in Twitteland and tweeting content that’s pertinent, witty &/or timely this lead me to what I’ve always wanted…writer friends!

My real-life friends are not writers.  They are creative in other ways.  So, I was lonely.  Now, I’m not.  Why?  Because that good old loveable lightweight of a powerhouse, my Kindle, brought me in communication with people of like mind.

Through perusing and playing around on Twitter I came across National Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  Through NaNoWriMo I found more writing resources and new ideas and a mentor.  Through my mentor, I gained confidence and strength in my ability to navigate this new world.  I completed the 50K word NaNoWriMo challenge and haven’t looked back.

By following those who know how, the evolving technologies can be a benefit and an advantage to us instead of just another hurdle to overcome. We can be better writers, thinkers and doers with words.  We just have to get out of our own way and let opportunity, insight and community in.

To celebrate and commemorate the first year of The NoteBook Blogairy please enjoy the Rafflecopter giveaway that I am gladly following through on after months of avoidance! LOL.

You can win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com or one of my books.

Thanks for sticking with me this past year and I hope we become even better writerly friends.  Talk to me!  Engage me!  Dispute with me!  That’s the name of the game in this brave new world.  Or, if that’s all too much just leave a comment and I’ll take it from there.

Ta-ta for now,

NoteBook

a Rafflecopter giveaway