10 Hours a Week!
In April 2012, I fell in love.
Laid by a sun-drenched pool with the heat
on my skin, I fell in love.
I’d never met a man like him: mysterious,
intense, and passionate.
The passion I felt, the wonder and awe I
felt for people I had never met, inspired me to make more of my life, to enjoy
it a little more, to approach it with a new-found passion, and so as I came to
the end of Christian and Ana’s story a different life began.
There were authors out there to discover,
and not only did they write inspiring stories, they were inspiring people in
their own right—willing to chat over Facebook and Twitter about their
characters and the thrill of writing.
They enjoyed the interaction with readers
and as a community we thrived.
Facebook and Twitter acquaintances became real
life, in-the-flesh friendships, and bonds were formed, that to this day, remain
firmly in place.
Over the coming months, I threw myself into
more stories and met more Authors, readers and bloggers. They were all so wonderful
and positive, we recommended books to each other and reader groups were popping
up all over the place and I read more books that fundamentally changed my
attitude to life.
I too wanted to start a blog—what fun it
would be to write about the books I had read, the authors I had met and I hoped that other people would be inspired to
pick up a book and enjoy them as much as I had.
I was sure it wouldn’t take up too much of my time: a few hours a week
maybe. And so a blog was built… I say
that like it took 2 mins. It took several days and much banging my head on the dining
room table and drinking—lots and lots of drinking, but I would not let Blogger beat me. An email account was set up and a Facebook
page. Slowly, my Facebook and Twitter
numbers picked up, and my email inbox went from a few emails a day to 100’s a
week, all asking me to post about books, promos, cover reveals, release blitzes
and reviews.
I could no longer cope. I was drowning in a
sea of admin instead of doing what I loved. Reading.
I sent out a heartfelt plea. I needed help.
I needed a partner in crime. But who
could I trust to uphold the same values as me? Who could I trust with the Bare
Naked Words brand? Someone who would steer clear of drama, who would honour and
respect the arcs we received and when a promise is made to an author to review,
a review there would be.
Fortunately, someone was recommended to me,
and we started chatting, and we soon realised that although we didn’t agree on
all things books and still don’t, we were very much aligned in our values.
“Come and join me,” I said.
“I’d love to join you,” she said.
“I can probably commit 10 HOURS A WEEK to
the blog,” she said confidently.
“Oh that’s plenty,” I assured her.
Oh how we look back and laugh at those
young, naïve bloggers that we were.
We probably do double that each per week
now. On top of our real life jobs and our families.
Yes, there have been challenges along the
way. Not everyone we have met has been super lovely.
But we love it.
I remember the first time Bare Naked Words
was mentioned in the acknowledgements of a book.
I cried.
Still do.
When I saw Claire and I named personally in
the thank yous.
I cried.
Still do.
We have met the most amazing people and
continue to do so.
When we see authors we work with hit USA
Today or New York Times bestsellers lists
I cry
Every time.
They are our family
We continue to push and encourage those new
authors we meet, and we wish every single one of them success.
Has the book world changed? Yes
Has the Blogging world changed? Yes
But it is still the best community, ever.
So thank god for those “10 HOURS PER WEEK”.
Because if it weren’t for Claire joining me, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
And for that, I am eternally grateful.
Have a super lovely day book world for you
have given me so much and continue to do just that.
