"I'm Somebody Now"

For some of us, there is just something special about seeing your name in print.  It reminds me of one of my favorite movie lines of all time.  Actor Steve Martin’s character, in the legendary comedy ‘The Jerk’, goes running out to the delivery truck and grabs the latest copy of the white pages, exclaiming “The new phonebooks are here, I’m somebody now”.  Seeing your name in print establishes your identity, it give you a special sense of permanence.  You are somebody now!

You name is your unique identity.  Whether you like your name or not, it is a part of you.  It is what you are known by.  When someone sees your name it means something.  We’ve all done it, looked up our own name on google, just to see what’s there.  For a writer though, it’s much more than simply having your name in print, it is having your thoughts, your ideas, and your words seen by other people.  It can be exciting, but it can also be very scary. 

I remember when I was younger, I would write my inner most feelings, all of my teenage angst in my diary and then I would lock it away for safekeeping, so that no prying eyes could read my words.  What a difference there is in my viewpoint today. 

As an author and blog writer, it is my hope that my words will mean something to other people.  I want my thoughts, my ideas to have a lasting impact.  They are no longer carefully hidden from my older sisters in my locked diary, they are out in the world for everyone to look at. 

Being brave enough to share my words with the world can be daunting – what if the world doesn’t like my words?  Or worse yet, what if no one even cares enough to read them.  All writers face rejection every day.  As a writer, you need to believe in yourself and you need to have the courage to face rejection, but you also get to experience the amazing feeling when someone does read your words. 

As I learn my way around the world of blogging, I am overwhelmed at the tools available to help me.  One of my favorite things to do is to check how many page views my blog has received.  This is my way of looking in the new phonebook – when I look and see that my blog has over 2,000 page views so far – I know that I am somebody now & I know that someone is reading my words.  For a writer there is nothing more wonderful than that.