IWSG: (UN)FOLLOW ME

Hey!

Its the first Wednesday in September. I always find it weird when this day falls in the first few days of the month. Seems to me it should be a week into the month (2nd Wednesday) so Insecure Writers Support Group doesn't just sneak up on me. But, IWSG is a good way to announce a new month, with new goals and networking opportunities. And what better day to talk about ME  . .

Well, ME as I relate to social media. As authors and bloggers, social media is the life blood that feeds our muse, connections with fellow authors and industry professionals, opportunities for fame and glory (or rejection and heartbreak), and allows us to indulge in hours and hours of entertainment. Not that any of us would prefer to play FB games and watch cute videos of kitties/dogs instead of write, revise, query or market our hard work.

Today we celebrate author blogging, and so my IWSG topic relates to blogging. Specifically, that all important Follow/Friend button we all stare at with anxiety and hope.

I don't have as many followers as most bloggers I follow, but those that have followed me here as dolorah at Book Lover followed me from a previous blog. Late last year I suffered an ego blow in my day life that resulted in a knee jerk reaction of deleting my blog under my true name Donna Hole (many of you still will read that with my unique signature of ........dhole in the comments) at A WRITERS LIFE IN PROGRESS. I fondly remember the day Dezzy gifted me with the header he created.

So many wonderful blog moments were lost when I deleted that blog. I backed it up, reposted and deleted again every about two and a half months to keep it from permanently deleting, and eventually created this dolorah persona because I missed all my valuable online friends, Many fabulous friends followed me here. Some took my suggestion to UNFOLLOW me from www.donnahole.blogspot.com and others deleted the blog from their blogroll. I am sure it hurt my friends to wave so long to that blog as much as it did me, what with all the blogfests, awards, author interviews, book reviews, and shoutouts that marked my previous journey as an author blogger. I would not be the confident blogger/author I am here today without that other blog (may it rest in peace).

Could you imagine our IWSG host Alex J Cavanaugh starting over again under another name/blog address? My guest blogger lists pale by comparison, but I was (am) every bit as proud of my first blog.

Lately some of my friends have noticed that the donnahole.blogspot has become active again in their feeds, and these concerned bloggers have informed me something wicked has usurped that former address. Imagine coming home from vacation one day to find aliens have moved into your lofty home while you were away!!! Opening your mail, inviting your unsuspecting friends over through duplicitous acts, smearing your name with unintelligible marketing gibberish. This spammer writes ABOUT ME as (translated) "Donna Hole is a portal of information about health and beauty tips. Thank you for visiting this blog." Even has a lengthy Blogger disclaimer stating the host is not responsible for fraudulent or misinterpreted information, which means nothing to ME, as I am not THAT Donna Hole.

I, dolorah, still and always the one and only original Donna Hole, am trying to figure out how to report this abducted blog as spam to Blogger. INConveniently, there is no "report this blog" link on the stolen blog.  In the mean time, I request anyone who is following www.donnahole.blogspot.com to IMMEDIATELY GO TO MANAGE YOUR BLOGS, UNFOLLOW donnahole.blogspot.com, and REMOVE THE DELETED BLOG FROM YOUR BLOG ROLLS AND OTHER FEEDS (Feedly, follow by email). I know how hard it is to hit that unfollow/unfriend/remove/delete key (even for someone you no longer care to follow or receive posts from), but I assure you it will be beneficial and painless to both you and ME (dolorah, aka Donna Hole). My FB, Google+, GoodReads, Linked In, Quora, Disquis, and email, and this blog are all linked to Donna Hole's gmail (view my complete profile), so no worries in deleting me from anything you've followed/friended me on elsewhere. Its all still ME Me me; as anyone with a linked Google account will know how hard it is to delete oneself entirely from social media. For me, that was a good thing. I think.

If it pains you to undo all that blog-love, assuage your guilt by following me here at Book Lover. I promise that at this blog (dolorah.blogspot.com), you will receive all the sexy snark, constructive criticism, heartfelt accolades, and general information you have come to associate as ME by any other name or avatar. You can refer to me in the comments as Donna, Donna Hole, dolorah, or even Mom if you expect to stay all day and want a bologna sandwich. (Adult beverages subject to age restrictions; I do NOT share my Diet Pepsi. Please drink the milk as my son and I are lactose intolerant and it is used only for cooking so it goes bad very quickly if guests do not imbibe.  No coffee or tea on premises, bring your own. Cookies never last long, so you might want to show up on a shopping day and help unload the haul.)

Enough about ME! Ya'll will be seeing me around your blogs (as many as I can get to over the next three days) as I'm co-hosting IWSG with Heather M Gardner, Christine Rains, Julie Flanders, and Murees Dupé, Notice how Alex has a harem of help again? Come on GUYS, step up and flex those bloggy muscles next time Alex puts out a call for co-hosts. And don't forget to visit the IWSG linky and click on as many new blogger links as you can spare the time to visit.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP WEBSITE:

The IWSG Short Story Contest 2015

After the success of last year’s IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond, we decided to create another book. This time it’s a short story competition with the top ten stories getting published in the anthology.

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Theme: Alternate History/Parallel Universe. That’s right, we’ve decided to go the speculative route. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines, except erotica or graphic violence.

Story deadline: November 1st 2015

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to TheIWSG at gmail dot com before the deadline passes. Make sure to include your contact details.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges:
·         Laura Maisano - Senior editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA Christian fiction
·         Russell Connor – Author and owner of Dark Filament Publishing Startup
·         Candace Havens  - Author and Editorial Director for the Covet, Edge and Select lines at Entangled Publishing
·         Dawn Frederick – Literary agent and the founder of Red Sofa Literary
·         Alice Speilburg – Founder of the Speilburg Literary Agency
·         Michelle Johnson – Founder of Inklings Literary Agency and Writers' Center and Bookstore owner
·         Kendare Blake - Author
·         Lydia Moëd - Associate agent at The Rights Factory

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title. The winners will also receive an exclusive badge to display on their blog.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!