Giveaways
Charlotte Rains Dixon  

Winners of the Birthday Giveaway! (With an Explanation and a Question)

File0001840689115Before I reveal the three winners of the birthday giveaway, an explanation and a question.

The Explanation

When I started this project seven years ago, it was the style to name your blog. (It still is, to a certain degree at least.)  So I came up with the idea for the name Wordstrumpet.  Inspired by one of my favorite blogs at the time, the Yarn Harlot, I thought that combining "word" and "strumpet" would signify that I was a lush for writing.

Turns out lots of people don't know about strumpets.  No, a strumpet is not a sweet delicacy, but rather a wanton woman (so perhaps some might indeed call her a sweet delicacy).  Oh, and that reminds me–my original tagline was "wanton for words."  Geesh, that's cute.  And I'd forgotten it until now.

And then, because I put the two words together, another unexpected thing happened.  People also called it Words Trumpet.  As in, trumpeting your words for all to hear.  This became a delightful surprise and never bothered me when people mis-read it.  Hey, it worked both ways, right?

(I'm pretty sure you can assign deep psychological meaning to how people read the name, what each person sees in it. You Words Trumpet people–clean and sparkly brains.  Wordstrumpet folks–not even going there.)

But then a couple of years in I realized I needed to brand myself and that using the title Wordstrumpet, however you read it, was not doing that.  So I changed the name to Charlotte Rains Dixon.  (When the blog got redesigned, there was supposed to be a tiny Wordstrumpet in the corner of the banner, but that got lost somehow.) 

The Question

Funny, though, some people still think of this blog as Wordstrumpet.  And its awkward, when people ask me the name of my blog to say, "Charlotte Rains Dixon."  Its root name is still Wordstrumpet and since that is its birth name, I'm fond of it.  (I'm wanton like that.)

Over the next few months, I'm planning to do some freshening up of the place and so here's my question:

Should I go back to calling the blog Wordstrumpet?  Or should I keep it as it is, Charlotte Rains Dixon?

If I decide to do this, it would probably read something like "Charlotte Rains Dixon's Wordstrumpet" in the banner.  Too much?  Good idea?  (Bear in mind name recognition is a good thing, a very good thing, when it comes to selling books.)

The Winners

Okay, thank you for taking time with my self-indulgent questions.  I know you only read this far to find out who won (chosen by random name generator), and here you go:

Walter Ruggieri--25 page manuscript review

Maureen Lee–Digital download of Emma Jean's Bad Behavior

Leigh Lauck–Signed copy of Emma Jean's Bad Behavior

Please email me at wordstrumpet@gmail.com with the words Contest Winner in the subject line and we'll make arrangements for the giving of the gifts.

And please, leave a comment, answering my question. I'd love to hear your opinion!

Photo by aconant.

0 thoughts on “Winners of the Birthday Giveaway! (With an Explanation and a Question)

  1. Whoo hoo for the winners! Awesome contest, Charlotte. I’ll be meeting one of those winners for coffee today—can’t wait to see the look on her face when she realizes she’s a winner!

    LOL, sweet delicacy? Words Trumpet? I’m definitely not in the group with the clean, sparkly brains. The instant I saw @Wordstrumpet on Twitter I knew what you were up to with it—and so jealous I hadn’t thought of it myself.

    As for your appeal for opinions: you’ve got my hands-down vote for Wordstrumpet! However, you should take my advice with a grain of salt. I’m an indy author so I don’t have to present an image acceptable to agents and publishers. But, if there are other published authors out there using sassy branding, I’d say go for it!

    If you do decide to rebrand yourself Wordstrumpet, I visualize seeing it in large Victorian font on your banner with a smaller Charlotte Rains Dixon centered beneath it. (I love designing headers, so if you ever need a new one, you’d get the Friends deal :~)

  2. Charlotte Dixon

    Why did I somehow know you wouldn't be in the trumpet group?  Just kidding, I know you have a wonderful sparkly brain.  And thanks for your vote.  Also, I just may take you up on the offer to do a banner–I'll email you when I'm ready to talk prices.  Have a great weekend!

  3. Leigh Lauck

    Hi Charlotte:

    Woo hoo, I am SO excited about my copy of Emma Jean. I know it’s a cliche to say this, but I never win anything, so this is such a wonderful surprise. I read the first few pages on Amazon, and I am burning to read the rest. And a signed author copy, to boot!

    As for your blog name, how about Charlotte Rains IS Wordstrumpet in the major motion picture WORDS TRUMPET? Lol. Just being silly. I love Wordstrumpet, but I also see the advantages of having your name – your identity as an author, coach, teacher, etc. – consistent with your blog presence. I am kinda leaning toward the Charlotte Rains Dixon’s Wordstrumpet in the banner. WS is just such a delicious name, and as you say, it’s the birth name of the blog. So that’s my vote!

    Milliver and I are having coffee at Elevation in Taos. Where are you, Wordstrumpet? 😉

  4. Charlotte Dixon

    Yay, Leigh!  I'm so glad you won–and I know the feeling well, as I never seem to win anything either.  How fun that you and Milli are having coffee together in Taos–I swear I'll be there with you guys one of these days soon.  I'm afraid I'm in my office, which really needs a good cleaning.  I seem to get a few piles dealt with and before I know it they are back again.  Thanks for weighing in on the name.  So far it's one to one.  We'll see what others say.

  5. Ledger D' Main

    Charlotte’s Web ???????

  6. Charlotte Dixon

    Years ago, that's what I planned to call my site, but turns out it was taken.  🙂

  7. Ledger D' Main

    Ghost writer on the web???? Replete with a catchy theme song by Vaughn Monroe…

  8. Charlotte Dixon

    Isn't there a tune called Ghost Riders in the Sky?  

  9. Ledger D' Main

    What’s it called?? Artistic libation?…

  10. Don

    As far as the choice of name goes, well, I like em both, so, unfortunately, I can’t decide on that one.

    Regarding the lucky winners, I’m sure that Walter Ruggieri will be as helpful as the one you did for me, and which I’m going over according to your suggestions…. thanks!

    I’m also certainly, certain, that Maureen Lee and Leigh Lauck will enjoy reading Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior as much as I, and others have. It’s certainly a good read, a very good read indeed.

  11. Charlotte Dixon

    I host an event called Literary Libations here in Portland. Drinking and talking about writing. Very artistic.

  12. Ledger D' Main

    Well there you go your new blog handle—-Charlotte’s Literary Libations & a Glass of Port…

  13. Charlotte Dixon

    Any port in a storm.

  14. Charlotte Dixon

    Thanks, Don, I’m glad that my critique was helpful to you, and that you enjoyed the novel.

    By the way, I’m still having issues with your comments going into the Spam file. Please don’t take it personally! But if you don’t see your comment right away, don’t worry, its likely gone astray again. I just need to remember to check the spam file regularly to retrieve it. For awhile, nearly all my comments were going into the spam file, but that’s stopped. I guess I should be glad that I’m not plagued with spam commenters like some blogs are! And I will do my best to keep remembering to retrieve you.

  15. Ledger D' Main

    Or shipboard with Captain Morgan…

  16. Don

    No problem, from this day forth I shall comment via another email address and that should lick the problem. However, next time you see something in your spam box that shouldn’t be there, just highlight it and right-click “Not Spam” and that should also fix it. The same problem happened to me several times so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

  17. Jenni Gainsborough

    I vote for Charlotte Rains Dixon — the Word Strumpet. I’ve always loved that name and I think you should link it firmly to your own.

  18. D young

    I wouldn’t change a thing. Either way you google it pops up. Wordstrumpet is still your domain name anyway. Put both in the official page name as Jenni suggested. If you want. But I wouldn’t stray far from what most are already familiar with. Had you changed completely before I found you again- I’d possibly not have found you:)

  19. J.D.

    I am one of the stupid ones who thought is was Words Trumpet. Now that I’ve found it is Strumpet, this is a brand new stop for me. There is nothing like starting over. As for the choices, I like them all. CRD, Trumpet, Strumpet . . . you pick, Charlotte. Just don’t call it The Ducks Lair.

  20. D young

    There’s a million names we could have her not call it. Keep it simple. Familiar.
    Nicknames sometimes stick. Sometimes change the aura. I once was called Allie, but that was forever ago.

  21. Charlotte Dixon

    You're not stupid, J.D.  Lots of people have thought that–which I love, because it never occurred to me.  (it's also why I love doing crossword puzzles–so many different ways to look at the meaning of a word!)  And darn it, the Duck's Lair was going to be my next suggestion!

  22. Charlotte Dixon

    Thanks, Jenni.  I think I lost my nerve around it when I first started out, but I'm leaning heavily towards going back to it again.

  23. Charlotte Dixon

    Yeah, I have a long-ago nickname that some people still call me.  (Like family–hard to retrain them.)  Thanks for weighing in.

  24. Charlotte Dixon

    I just found you in the spam box again! Sigh! And I can’t find any “not spam” button on the list–I’m on Typepad, not WordPress. But I’ll look around and see what I can do. It bothers me no end because you are the last person I want this to happen to!

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