Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Thoughtful Tuesday - Fame

Today, I've decided to post random thoughts (sort of) that fall under one topic...

Fame

Yep, that's the topic. It's vague, I agree, so let me unvague it(yes, I made that one up :p  ). When I first began blogging, I followed some blogs (and still do) that have tons of followers and comments. I was like, 'Damn, I want that.' It took months for me to even get ten followers. And now I'm up to 134. I still don't get many comments, but I don't get much time to go comment on others, so I can't complain much.

I will read, follow, and comment (when I can) on any blog whether they do the same for me. It just seems like the natural thing to do. I love to support people because that's just my personality. I get off (yes, that's the phrase choice that came to mind :p ) on supporting people. That's why I do my Mention Mondays and my TAG!s, it's even why I do my book reviews on Wednesdays. Supporting others makes me feel good.

I've become such a fan of the self-pub and Indie authors because I've found so many wonderful people and books. They don't get a quarter of the recognition they deserve. There are books out there that are better than Laurell K Hamilton and James Patterson (both of these authors are two of my favorites btw) and yet they don't have half of the fanbase that LKH and JP have. But they DESERVE it.

The Indie and Self-pubbed authors don't boast and brag about their awesomeness, most of them are so humble they don't even realize it, but sadly nowhere near enough other people realize it either. LKH has an FB page and she can post a picture of her dog and get thousands of comments on it. Why? Because she's 'famous'. But does fame make her dog cuter than Author Jane Doe? No, it doesn't. Yet people treat it that way. (Yes, I chose dog pics, but it's just to give an example that demonstrates what I'm saying.)

We live in a world full of celebrities and people are all over those celebs, but I never get it. They're just people. Self-pubbers and Indies are just people too, so what about them? What does it take to get people to see their names? They write wonderfully, they interact with fans and treat them as friends, and they humbly and graciously accept compliments and they're under appreciated.

I'm rambling, sorry :/  But I do have a point...

Fame is measured by the number of people who are willing to recognize the 'celebrity.' I follow several blogs, many of them published authors, and I think they're all famous. Alex J Cavanaugh is famous in my eyes. If I met him I'd be slightly fan-girlish because he's just that awesome. I recently talked about Karen Amanda Hooper (here) and CK Bryant (here). If I met either of them, I'd be a bit fan-girlish there too. These are only three of the awesome people I've had the privilege of getting to know more. And each of them are awesome in their own way, but they're awesome in a special way too. They're my friends even though I've never met them in person (and even if they don't think of me that way :p  ). With Karen and CK, I've exchanged a few emails and Tweets, and every encounter was special to me. With Alex, it's his comments on my blog as well as replies to my comments on his, but every time, it's special. Knowing them, makes me feel like I know some famous people and they all deserve that feeling.

They are famous, even if I don't think enough people realize that. Which now brings me to the point (sorry this has been so long). It's okay to be a fan of someone whose name is EVERYWHERE, someone who has a HUGE fanbase. BUT make sure to recognize the other people who are famous, yet unrecognized. Brag about these under appreciated celebrities, tweet about them, 'like' them, follow them, talk talk talk about them. They deserve as much fame as any other celeb out there, some of them deserve it more. The unrecognized celebrities (especially in the Author industry) DESERVE to be recognized. Spread the word, tell the world, '*Insert name* is AWESOME and everyone should know.'

Now, go tell it!

Happy Thoughts :)

5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Aw, I'm famous? When did that happen?
There are so many amazing people who never receive recognition, and yet they quietly continue to do what they do. And since I believe we are all God's children, that means everyone is special and awesome.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Kela. And you are my friend!

Karen Baldwin said...

Marketing and branding is your answer. Take the Kardashians - the only thing they're famious for is getting their name in the news everyday. Talent? Nada. But they had enough sense to hire a marketing guru. And marketing is part of the 'published author' game.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

A great post to read, Alex is a wonderful friend to have in blogging land. Also Arlee Bird who I had the pleasure of meeting whilst in LA in Feb this year, Thanks for an interesting post to read.

Yvonne.,

SC Author said...

An awesome post! That's the evils of this publishing world, that mainly the ones who know how to market or hire those who can market really succeed. I bet there are tons of amazing novels out there that people just don't read, because they've never heard of them.

Precy Larkins said...

You are indeed a sweetheart! :) What a nice thing to blog about. I know a lot of writer friends who are fabulous but not famous...yet. And I give them my support 110% because they deserve it. It's not nearly as fun (or as challenging) to support a well-established author because you know your support is just one of many. But for a new author, one unconditional support is worth millions.

Btw, I have a blog award for you. :)