Saturday, April 24, 2010

I Don't Like Being Invisible

I did a book signing for Gospel Insights for Everyday Living in Logan, Utah, yesterday and met a lot of wonderful people. I fell in love with Logan when I got my Masters degree at Utah State, but I haven’t been there for years and since it is one of the most beautiful places on earth, I was delighted to return. I took D5 with me and her son the Big E and we went up early to stop at some of our favorite spots—like Cox Honey where I stocked up on flavored honeys and of course bought some honey popcorn which is absolutely heavenly and something I’ve never found anyplace else on earth. Then we went on to the Old Grist Mill and bought English scones. Again—I’ve never found these delicious treats anyplace else and they are fantastic! All they had left at 1:00 in the afternoon were peach and I prefer the berry or cherry, but the peach was delicious and it is worth the long drive up there just for the honey popcorn and English scones. Then we found an Indian restaurant that was new to us, and enjoyed a fantastic lunch before going on to the book signing at the Book Table book store booth at an event held at the Riverwoods-Marriott.

Book signings are interesting things. People walk by and pretend you are invisible so they don’t have to talk to you. Do you know how awful it is to be treated like you are invisible? But even worse, it is very boring to sit there being invisible. So I have to get people’s attention. I’m not very good at this. As a matter of fact, I'm terrible at it. I’ve watched other author’s do it and some of them are masters of the art of attention getting. I think it’s because I’d rather be invisible that it makes it difficult for me to get attention. That's the part about writing I like--sitting in my library all alone exploring my thoughts on paper. But being a writer also means you have to sell your books and invisible doesn’t sell books. Yesterday, I thought I'd found a way to break through the invisibility barrier. I brought a bowl full of bite-sized candy bars and offered those for free, but it seems everyone is on a diet and refused even my candy. In short, after two hours of sitting there trying not to be invisible I only sold three books! I came home feeling rather rejected.

So if any of you have read Gospel Insights and liked it, please leave a comment and tell me you have read it and that I'm not invisible to you. Better still, go on to Amazon.com and leave a review of the book. If you have read Gospel Insights and didn’t like it, please refrain from any comments anywhere. I’ve had all the rejection I can take for one week!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are not invisible to me!! This blog has been a blessing and a wonderful light in my life. Your uplifting messages are especially needed for me when I'm going through some trials I would rather not be experiencing! So thank you thank you thank you!!

She-Mulk said...

You are not invisible to me either! In fact, you should do a book signing in Bountiful area and I will come see you (and even though I try to eat healthy, I would even take a candy bar!) :) I do enjoy your blog and make reference to it regularly on my blog!

Wendi said...

I left my review on Amazon when it was first published. And your book, along with the scriptures, are the only ones I've given 5 stars to on Goodreads. Everything else I like gets four stars. :) I bet those book signings are difficult--I've never thought of it that way before. I'm going to make sure to say something friendly to authors sitting there at Costco from now on.

Jenny said...

I love your book! The chapter called "Redeemed!" has been on my mind for quite a while now and I think of the different definitions of redeemed when I read the scriptures. Thank you for helping me apply the scriptures to my life by reading Gospel Insights!
I love you!

Dani said...

And you are not invisible to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking and writing! NO MORE REJECTION! (of course, all the people who walked by don't even know what they are passing up).

Dani said...

Oh by the way, thanks also for telling us where to go in Logan for yummies! I get up there occasionally!

Brynn said...

You are definitely not invisible to me! I read your blog regularly and I has truly opened my eyes and changed my life.

Martha said...

I wish I could have been there at that book signing to give you a hug, and thank you for the many, many things I've been learning from you on your blog! I think there are some days that the Spirit must be whispering to you to tell you what to write JUST FOR ME. I don't even know how to put into words how much of a lifeline your blog has been for me. You are not invisible...you just can't see all of the good of what you do! Or the many people your writing has touched! It's kind of like how missionaries go around planting a lot of seeds, but have little idea how many of them actually grow and bear fruit.

Dani said...

And sometimes we feel that it only matters if we touch many people AND make money, AND they remember us, AND we are acknowledged, when It Matters if we touch just one person profoundly!
And sometimes the only evidence that we have done something that matters is that we feel the Spirit.

SuSu said...

I have so enjoyed your blog and your words of wisdom. I have not been able to get this invisible post off my mind since I read it. I could totally understand where you were coming from and the idea of feeling invisible as people walked by as if you weren't even there. But I wanted to add this, as hard as being invisible to strangers must be imagine if you can how hard it is to be invisible to family members and people at church. I've experienced being invisible with both recently and talk about feeling rejected......now that is no fun! Thankfully my tomorrows have been much better; everything looks better the next day.

Anonymous said...

I completely understand that feeling of being invisible...both at church and with family & friends. I have come to discover (to my dismay) that on those occasions I was projecting a nonverbal "I want my space" message. I have to work on that and tell myself that they are only respecting what they perceive to be my wishes. Love these messages...Thank You

Unknown said...

I've been on vacation the past two weeks and am just catching up on blogs. I was fortunate enough to win your book from one of your giveaways. It is a wonderful book. So easy to read. I keep it in my Sunday bag with my scriptures, so that it is accessible all the time.