The Sweet Rewards of Blogging

This is a true story about the real-life benefits of blogging. Now that I've been blogging for almost two years (okay, maybe not faithfully but still . . . ), I thought I would share with you a recent experience that has encouraged my interest in forging on with the posts.

Many of you know I have a history of posting about fat topics. Some of you might remember that I've recommended a book called, "The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" by Wendy Shanker. What you may not know is that I sent Wendy a lengthy and rather-wordy thank you email last year and got a really nice return email that went something like this:

Esther

Wow - I am completely blown away by your email. When I wrote the book, I thought, "Well, hopefully there are a few people out there who will relate..." Then, of course, I found there were plenty.

Besides being really honored by your compliments, I'm really impressed by your writing skill. You say you help other girls...I hope that you will continue to do that, and think about getting published yourself, whether it's pitching to magazines or newspapers, or blogging your own thoughts...

I hope your evolution continues and that we both stay true to the message we feel in our hearts.

Thank you so much.

Wendy

Well, shucks! Such an email from an esteemed author would be reward enough, right? But this is only the middle of my blogging rewards tale.

About a week ago, I received an email from a man named Tyson Cornell addressed directly to me saying that Penguin Books would like to send me a free copy of Wendy's new book called, "Are You My Guru?" and asked for my address so they could send along this copy. Obviously in the cyber world any request for personal information intimates some sort of scam, so I googled Tyson and was pleasantly surprised to find this article, confirming that Tyson is a legit (and successful) PR guy in the literary world and definitely working with Wendy on her new book.

So, I returned his email with my work address (still playing it safe) and a query as to why I was chosen for such a promotion. Tyson quickly replied with the following:

Thanks, Esther! As soon as we have copies I'll make sure one is sent out to you.

Why? Because we like what you do and hope that you'll like the new book, write about it on your blog and tell everyone you know to go buy it! :)

Best,

Tyson

Well tickle me pink and dot my freckles! My blogging got me something free!

I received the new book yesterday and I can't wait to read it. The coolest part is that I jumped on Amazon and discovered that it's not even available to the public yet! It comes out on September 7, 2010. I'll be sure to give an update as soon as I'm finished and let you all know if it's worth the read.

Thanks to you guys for reading my soapboxes and making Tyson and Wendy believe I was worth the investment!