Hello, Everyone!
I hope it’s warming up nicely in your part of the world. Now that ski season is over, for me at any rate, I’m counting the days until spring. In my garden, I’ve spied a few crocuses poking through the detritus of last fall, their bright yellow petals a cheery site after seeing the stiff, brown stalks of last summer’s flowers. My tiny family room is my office, and I sit with my laptop and stare out the window at our patio. I can tolerate this barren view for another month because I know that the daffodils and tulips will soon follow the crocus and the view will be lovely once again and inspire me in my writing. What doesn’t inspire me is having to struggle with my computer and all the technology involved.
It’s hard to believe that not long ago writing a book was just that—writing a book. Now it’s writing a book, formatting it, designing a cover, which I don’t do, but many authors do, loading the book to retail sites, structuring the price for all the different territories on those sites, buying advertising, and forwarding the different documentation to the different blogs that will advertise the book. The list is endless. Because I have a day job, I don’t have time to learn the different intricacies of how each site operates. I want to laugh or cry as I’m up until the wee hours of the morning trying load files. When I ask for help, I receive a response that begins with, “It’s really very easy…”
Easy for someone who writes code all day.
I consider it an accomplishment that I know how to turn on the computer. When my previous laptop died, my husband took me to the computer store and helped me pick out a new laptop. I was very sad. I’d finally figured out how to use the old laptop. Now I had to learn how to use the new laptop which has extra bells and whistles, none of which I’ll ever use. One kind woman on one of my writers’ loops told me to take a deep breath. That was the BEST advice ever. I now understand why computer companies no longer have help centers. They’re tired of dealing with people like me. Now when I have a computer problem, I call a number and schedule a time for a call back.
It isn’t all bad. I’m learning a few more things and learning is a good thing, so I’ve been told, but it’s that time between not know something and reaching the point when I finally know it. That timeframe makes me feel like a total idiot.
Am I afraid? Maybe, a little. But not as afraid as I was a year ago. Or an hour ago.
I hope you’re week is wonderful and that you have time to curl up with a great book and enjoy an afternoon to yourself, or enjoy an afternoon in lovely, almost-spring weather.
Love,
Laura
