Life Happenings, Learning Curves, and Decisions, Decisions (aka excuses, excuses)
It’s good to set goals, right? But why have I been announcing them before I’m certain I can deliver? Because despite my utmost confidence that I had set reasonable deadlines for releasing the 2017 revised edition of Defining Gray and the sequel, Ashes in Bloom, this month, I find myself, once again, behind schedule. So here’s a quick run down of the reasons my books aren’t yet available:
Life Happenings
Due to a few events in the past six months, there were times I hit the pause button on my work schedule:
- The election. Yes – I was one of those that the gloaters made fun of: I felt as if I’d been hit by a bus that I never saw coming. For weeks I went through cycles of grief: shock, despair … it felt like the end of the world as I had believed it to be. I vented and listened to friends with differing views. I opened my eyes wider. I began to do a lot of research. I wrote a mission statement, currently named “Defining Purple,” around a process to begin the difficult conversations of religion and politics amongst family and friends. I reluctantly, very reluctantly, became somewhat of an activist. And I marched. All that action was what finally enabled me to sleep at night, and get back to work.
- Extra time off for family and friends? Absolutely! When visitors arrive, like my in-laws did for over a week in January, I enjoy every minute I can with them. The only downside is the transition back into work mode!
- Our beloved cat, Dazi. From the beginning of her illness in early February, to the surprising diagnosis of Valley Fever, and to her passing on March 15th, it was heart wrenching. We miss her terribly.
Learning Curves
With all the mistakes I made my first go around of writing, editing, and publishing, you’d think I’d be a pro by now. Alas, there is always more to learn the hard way. This time I am doing all production tasks on my own, which makes for a slew of very tedious, time consuming tasks. The good news? I’ve learned a lot and many tasks are getting easier.
Decisions, Decisions
When I published Defining Gray, I did everything backwards. I actually had the books in hand before I gave a thought to bookstores, ebooks, marketing, publicity, wholesalers, distributors, websites, accounting, sales tax, etc. I soon learned I had already missed the opportunity to market through typical channels, so I chalked the first book up as a learning experience and moved forward the best I could.
Even though I now know better, I’m still resisting the marketing and publicity steps recommended for a successful book launch! Here are my release date options:
- Forgo conventional wisdom, again, and release it asap. This falls under my favorite method of marketing, ‘Organic,’ as I like to call it. Just let the books have a life of their own, and go where they’re going to go. Though probably the only advantage here is that I’d be freed up sooner to get back to work on finishing the musical!
- Delay the publishing date by six months or more. This would give me time to solicit book reviews and initiate a publicity and marketing plan. I would be taking advantage of all the knowledge learned from online webinars and courses, and two NYC publishing conferences/book expos I’ve attended, and also utilize member benefits from the Independent Book Publisher’s Association, of which I am a member. The downside is that these activities will be time consuming, so less time on the musical.
Seems like a no brainer decision, but I’m still conflicted! Option 2 is obviously the wise choice, but I really do like living organically as much as possible!
While I’m weighing the pros and cons of these release dates, I’ll continue slogging through the long list of tedious tasks ahead of me.
Wish me luck?
P.S. The 2017 revised edition of Defining Gray is ready to go, but since it has been selected for a book club’s May discussion, I’ll wait to hear their comments to ensure no last minute adjustments need to be made.
Next update no later than May 20th. Until then, may we all strive for a healthier, happier, co-existence with one another.