Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "fame"

Ah...those were the days.
Just about a year ago, I was putting the finishing touches on my book -- and I had big plans.
I dreamed of becoming a best-selling author and pictured myself doing book tours, television and radio interviews. Maybe my memoir could become a TV movie or major motion picture!
Naturally I'd need an entourage if all that happened, so I carefully selected the members of my inner circle. I couldn't think of a better makeup artist than my former Mary Kay consultant and I promised my hair stylist I'd take her on the road. With hundreds of cops to choose from, I knew picking my security chief and a few body guards would be a piece of cake...
But by the time warm spring days and sultry summer nights finally began to yield to cooler autumn climes and I finally held the very first copy of my book in my hands, reality set in. Sure, I could have fame and fortune. The only question was -- at what cost?
I didn't write "Truth be Told: Adam Becomes Audrey" to "out" my ex-husband or to exploit him in any way. And I definitely don't want to exploit my own life.
So imagine my marketing gurus' disgust when I put the kibosh on any publicity involving social networking. "No Twitter? No Facebook? No way!" they practically screamed in incredulous email messages.
"Pitch the book to a select group of media outlets, colleges with classes specializing in gender studies, and mental health professionals," I told them. "We can pitch it to the general public too -- but only as a secondary strategy."
So far, the mainstream media pitches haven't resulted in the publicity I once envisioned -- and the last time I looked, my memoir ranked No.2,194,764 in books on amazon.com.
I still have my day job, but I also have my integrity. I guess super-stardom and world domination will just have to wait.
Until next time... "That's life"

Judging by the number of views last week's post got, the topic clearly resonated with a lot of you.
And while I appreciate your support, it left me in a bit of a pickle. How can I top that? I've been thinking. The answer is, I probably can't. So I decided to shift gears this week.
After all, even I can only rant and rave so much.
So without further ado, here are my all-time favorite quotes about writing, reading and related activities. Enjoy!
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1. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. ― Benjamin Franklin
2. There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
― Ernest Hemingway
3. If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ― Toni Morrison
4. Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. ― Louis L'Amour
5. I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. ― Anne Frank
6. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. ― Dr. Seuss
7. Classic - a book which people praise and don't read. ― Mark Twain
8. If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. ― Stephen King
9. You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. ― Ray Bradbury
10. Readers are not sheep, and not every pen tempts them. ― Vladimir Nabokov
11. Read a lot, write a lot is the great commandment. ― Stephen King
12. She has learned to love. To fear. To hate. And then to love again. Through it all, she writes. ~Once Upon A Time There Was A Girl ― Kimberly Kinrade

Until next time, "That's life..."

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have been a bit taken aback by some of the comments I've made about Diane Sawyer's interview with Bruce Jenner on Friday night.
Those of you who don't follow me on Twitter might have been taken aback if you knew what I said.
But I'm not a hater. Really...
If anything I'm just aggravated. Make that really aggravated.
When "Truth" came out in 2012, the mainstream media was all over the Chaz Bono story. Now Diane Sawyer (and everyone else) is salivating over the Bruce Jenner story.
Why?
The truth is, neither one of them has anything to lose. Both are well off and that alone gives them a tremendous advantage over the vast majority of transgender individuals. Or to put it another way, their wealth gives them access to resources that others simply don't have.
Because they are in the public eye, Chaz and Bruce (I don't know what Bruce prefers to be called) can tell their stories with little fear of discrimination.
Some people might think that giving them a chance to share their stories will help promote tolerance and spread awareness about the transgender community. It's fantastic if it does. I honestly hope that's the case.
But let's face it. I am a cynic and a realist. So I don't think it will do a lick of good. After all, Diane Sawyer interviewed Bruce Jenner for one reason and one reason only -- to get ratings.
Apparently it worked. But as far as I'm concerned, if she (and the rest of the mainstream media) really want to help the transgender community, they should seek out ordinary people who are forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances.
Just because someone isn't a celebrity doesn't mean their story isn't important. If anything it means just the opposite.
Until next time, "That's life..."