“When
you turn around, you’ll see something I bet you’ve never seen before. If it
takes your breath away, then you’ll fit in nicely. If you don’t feel anything,
then maybe you don’t belong here.” -
Veronica Randolph Batterson, Daniel’s
Esperanza
If you write
books, you hope people will read them.
In fact, you remind them, beg them, bug them, post on social media about
your work until everyone ignores your pleas (or unfollows/unfriends you, or
whatever ‘un’ of the moment happens to be that I’ve never heard before). It’s wonderful when folks buy your books, and
even better when you receive a positive review and shout-out from someone. Recommendations are priceless because they
rarely come, and I love them when they do.
Recognition and
referral usually happen after someone reads the book, and I’ve received both. But I have to say I’m very surprised as to
how my book, Daniel’s Esperanza, has gotten attention lately. It’s through the above quote, and I have no
idea how it happened. It’s being used on
various sites by individuals I don’t know, and is being attached to personal
photographs that have meaning to the people using it. I’m told when something appears on Pinterest,
it spreads like wildfire (the same with Instagram). I’m not on either one of
the sites but my quote is, and it appears to be true. It’s also being shared on Twitter, and other
places I’m not even familiar with. I
guess hashtags are amazing.
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| Daniel's Esperanza |
Most of the people
who use the quote attribute it to me and to the book, and I’m okay with
this. I appreciate it, and it's pretty special that people get something from it. However, there are some who don’t give me
credit, and that’s a problem for me. It
took over three years of work to get the book published, and the quote is
actually a piece of dialogue in the book about seeing a band of wild horses for
the first time. Using it as your own by
deleting my name and from where it came is essentially stealing.
Hey, I like it
that other folks like it. I like it that
it’s being used in the way it has been.
Just give me that byline for it.
It’s deserved, it’s right, it’s cool…it’s what you’re supposed to do. I’ve even included a photograph here of
the book page where it’s published in paperback (about the fifth paragraph), in case
someone wants proof that it’s mine. Also,
I’m sharing a screenshot of one person’s use of it (and she attributed it to me
and my book – thanks!).
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| The quote finds itself here |
By the way, I just
became aware of how this quote has gone viral as I was preparing a blog post on
Intellectual Property and Copyright. I
guess I’ll be sharing that next time, but this is certainly an introduction for
it, and coincidental. And for those who think I'm being a little goofy about this, I'm not. It's my work. Finally, to all those
people who like the quote so much: there’s
a whole book waiting to be read that I’m sure you’ll like even better. Daniel’s Esperanza. On Amazon. $12.95 paperback. $3.99
Kindle. And sharing that is even better.
