It’s amazing what my daily run can do. After this jog and a short shower, I feel like Superwoman! I can take on my tasks again with renewed vigor.
I want to write about how disillusioned I am with a bunch of online influencers. After all my marketing efforts, I only got a lukewarm reception. But I am not angry at them personally, and I’m not upset. I have it in perspective.
My book achieved what I wanted it to achieve in my career, and I don’t apologize for the reasons I put it out or for choosing the topic. The truth is, I wrote it for my atheist friends, and it’s their reviews I should be raving about. Praise from online influecers are perks, after all. I didn’t even know they existed before I asked a bestselling author for advice.
When I was getting this book out, I told myself that not only was it for the Pinoy atheist community, it was also for me—to have one foot inside the door of publishing, and then see where I could go from there.
And also, yes, I didn’t get the literature degree I wished for as a teen, and it looks like I am going nowhere with my applications to the Silliman–UP–Ateneo–UST clique. I am not in yet. But I will try to smash that gate with the hammer of my will—with perseverance.
I’m happy to have met these young people (the influencers), and I’m not closing doors for future collabs, but for now, I’ve got bigger fish to fry. My PhD studies have begun. These days, I’m weaning myself from creating content for social media. In the words of the song Hotel California, “I had to find the passage back to the place I was before.”
I’m going back to blogging, because one significant thing I got out of this first-book adventure is the guts to get a self-hosted (read: paid) website—with my name on it. (melanyheger.com)
use a simpler strategy for content, and remind myself to mine from the gold core that resides in my heart.
I do feel insecure about withdrawing from daily soc med posting, but honestly—who cares? Who will miss me? What matters most is my opinion of myself.
I guess what I need is moderation—haha! Walk the middle way, ika nga.
I’m not going to stop with one book. For people like me—Gen Xers, muh-muh-my generation (hey Limp Bizkit)—our 40s and 50s are a second start.
We’ve still got loads to offer.
