Been a hot minute since I’ve posted a blog post….
…maybe it’s because I’ve been drowning in my writing work!
Let me clarify: For the past several months, I’ve basically been “chain writing.” What’s that? Well, it’s like chain smoking, only writing. As soon as I finish one project, I’ve got another ready to go. Back to back to back to back to…you get the idea. Good for productivity, bad for the psyche. I haven’t even had the opportunity to really promote my work because I’m so busy working! It’s terrible, but what can I do? Until/unless I can magically afford a personal assistant, I’m doing it all myself. The writing, the graphics, the promotions, the takeovers–all of it. And magic isn’t happening for a long, long time at this rate.
The writing is good. It’s solid. But the marketing? I’m floundering. I just can’t manage both at once, and it’s killing my writing career.
Now, some may argue that it’s not much of a career anyway, but I had a good thing for a while. Until recently, I had moderate indie success–or at least, what I considered to be success. Things were being read and reviewed and bought. That’s tanking hard now, though, and I have to fess up and say it’s all due to my own marketing shortcomings. Even if I knew the best way to promote myself, I just don’t have the time and energy with my current workload.
The lack of energy to promote myself is crippling. I know I should be gathering other authors to do a takeover in my reader group, but I can’t bring myself to format a Google spreadsheet to even start. This is only a week before release, too!! EEK!
I’ll get back out from under water someday. Today? Today I have to pick my ass up off the ground and force myself to take this “day off” from writing to get in gear. I have to format and upload my paperback for Tuesday’s release. I have to create graphics promoting the book, then post them in a few book groups to garner interest. I have to create that damn spreadsheet and see who I might conscript to sign up. I have to, because there’s no one else.
I’ll try to remember to work on this blog more. To update my site, to step up my marketing game.
I may be drowning now, but if I just learn how to swim, I might survive this.