Maiden Voyage

As my mother used to say, you start smoking pot, and before long you’re shooting heroin. That’s what happened with me and Facebook. I succumbed to peer pressure and joined up. I posted sparingly at first—mostly on weekends. Before long I was hooking up with FB every morning, maybe not posting myself, but reading my friends’ posts from the night before. Then I started posting a fair amount. Next thing I knew, I felt shaky if I didn’t check in several times a day. Now look at me. Blogging. How did that happen?

I’m going to blame it on the marketing director at Crown. She said I had to. She said my novel [Plug: Breaking Out of Bedlam (BOOB), on bookshelves January 12, 2010] won’t sell without it, that everyone’s doing it, and that if I’m at all serious about making money, I shouldn’t have to ask. Well, not quite. She said it would be a good idea. She recommended it—or at least suggested it. No pressure. She said if an author enjoys it, it’s worth doing, but if it takes too much time away from writing, or if someone plain old hates it, don’t bother. I said my writing time is precious and I don’t like to broadcast my private life all over the blogosphere. She said she understood and that was fine. I was unexpectedly disappointed. Maybe I’d try. Good, she said. Try. If it drives you crazy after a few weeks, don’t bother.

There’s only one way to find out.