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Topsy Turvy Week
May. 29th, 2015 11:07 pmI leave this week confused. Although no longer frustrated. So progress?
It's been a rather chaotic work week. And a topsy turvy one emotionally speaking, regarding my book aka the little novel that could. For those of you who haven't been following along? I wrote a book, ten years ago, revised it about 10 times (because you sort of have to), and finally found the courage to send it out into the universe. It's entitled "Doing Time on Planet Earth" (see nifty icon) and is available at the following outlets:
* Amazon.com
* Barnes and Noble
* Kindle (also Amazon) - it is exclusive to Kindle (electronically), but you can get in paperback virtually everywhere else.
Oh, and I got my first responses.
( responses to the little novel that could )
( and the compulsive obsessive virtual book touring is about to go on hiatus )
Social media is a curious thing, isn't it? When it works..it's lovely. But lately, I've wanted to kick it to the curb. It feels as if I'm talking to myself most of the time. And perhaps I am. The silence can be deafening. Writing is after all, a solitary sport. Hence the reason so many writers are on social media. The need to interact with other writers is addictive. You desperately want to know what they thought about this or that. But when the interaction appears to cease...you wonder what the point of it all is? It's why I've never quite been able to put up a personal blog, because...again, what if you don't get any responses? How do you know if anyone grokked what you wrote? And if they say nothing at all - did they hate it? Were they ambivalent? Most likely ambivalent. People tend to respond to things that trigger strong emotions. Ambivalence, not so much.
Topsy turvy week. I find myself second-guessing everything I've done with my book. Should I have added the bio? Was it better without it? Should I have done the Good Reads Giveaway? Did I accomplish anything from it? Should I have done it for two months instead of five days? Should I have provided 5 copies of my book instead of just 2? (I admittedly went the cheaper route). Should I have promoted the Free Kindle Promotion more? Should I have let it last longer? Should I have spent a little money on online promotional services such as Underground Book Reviews - in the hope that someone on it would review my book? (Too late already did, so restrain yourself from saying I shouldn't). Should I have made it available on Story Cartel and paid a pittance for people to review it? (Yep, did that too.) And what if the reviews are negative or more in line with the blogger and less in line with my co-worker? (Somewhat counterproductive that - which is why I absolutely refuse to pay for reviews. If they are great - you wonder if it's the bribe, if they are awful, you think - damn, I'm out $250-400 bucks. Besides I write book reviews for free, other people can too.) Did my co-worker like it more because he actually knows me? I don't know. There's no way of knowing for sure. I feel like I'm making this up as I go along. Blubbering my way through. And I'm constantly bombarded with advice, even when I'm not seeking it.
I've posted my baby, my little novel that could, practically everywhere now or everywhere I can think of - to the four winds and back again. Various places will take two-three months to let me know if I made the cut or will be promoted further. (One I joined but opted out of "Books Daily" - after realizing it would cost me $50 bucks a month for them to promote my work on what amounted to an internet listserve. The cheaper one - just $40 (Underground Book Reviews), I went with instead. And of course there was The Story Cartel, which cost $7 for a book launch token - 18 days available to reviewers.) Exposing myself on the net, in the process. Publishing a book feels a bit like paying someone to take off all your clothes and strutting naked through Times Square in broad daylight. You wait for the hecklers, even though you hope to God there aren't any.
Success, sometimes I think, is risking brutal failure. It's why I loved Wile E. Coyote. Say what you will about that guy, but at least he tried.
It's been a rather chaotic work week. And a topsy turvy one emotionally speaking, regarding my book aka the little novel that could. For those of you who haven't been following along? I wrote a book, ten years ago, revised it about 10 times (because you sort of have to), and finally found the courage to send it out into the universe. It's entitled "Doing Time on Planet Earth" (see nifty icon) and is available at the following outlets:
* Amazon.com
* Barnes and Noble
* Kindle (also Amazon) - it is exclusive to Kindle (electronically), but you can get in paperback virtually everywhere else.
Oh, and I got my first responses.
( responses to the little novel that could )
( and the compulsive obsessive virtual book touring is about to go on hiatus )
Social media is a curious thing, isn't it? When it works..it's lovely. But lately, I've wanted to kick it to the curb. It feels as if I'm talking to myself most of the time. And perhaps I am. The silence can be deafening. Writing is after all, a solitary sport. Hence the reason so many writers are on social media. The need to interact with other writers is addictive. You desperately want to know what they thought about this or that. But when the interaction appears to cease...you wonder what the point of it all is? It's why I've never quite been able to put up a personal blog, because...again, what if you don't get any responses? How do you know if anyone grokked what you wrote? And if they say nothing at all - did they hate it? Were they ambivalent? Most likely ambivalent. People tend to respond to things that trigger strong emotions. Ambivalence, not so much.
Topsy turvy week. I find myself second-guessing everything I've done with my book. Should I have added the bio? Was it better without it? Should I have done the Good Reads Giveaway? Did I accomplish anything from it? Should I have done it for two months instead of five days? Should I have provided 5 copies of my book instead of just 2? (I admittedly went the cheaper route). Should I have promoted the Free Kindle Promotion more? Should I have let it last longer? Should I have spent a little money on online promotional services such as Underground Book Reviews - in the hope that someone on it would review my book? (Too late already did, so restrain yourself from saying I shouldn't). Should I have made it available on Story Cartel and paid a pittance for people to review it? (Yep, did that too.) And what if the reviews are negative or more in line with the blogger and less in line with my co-worker? (Somewhat counterproductive that - which is why I absolutely refuse to pay for reviews. If they are great - you wonder if it's the bribe, if they are awful, you think - damn, I'm out $250-400 bucks. Besides I write book reviews for free, other people can too.) Did my co-worker like it more because he actually knows me? I don't know. There's no way of knowing for sure. I feel like I'm making this up as I go along. Blubbering my way through. And I'm constantly bombarded with advice, even when I'm not seeking it.
I've posted my baby, my little novel that could, practically everywhere now or everywhere I can think of - to the four winds and back again. Various places will take two-three months to let me know if I made the cut or will be promoted further. (One I joined but opted out of "Books Daily" - after realizing it would cost me $50 bucks a month for them to promote my work on what amounted to an internet listserve. The cheaper one - just $40 (Underground Book Reviews), I went with instead. And of course there was The Story Cartel, which cost $7 for a book launch token - 18 days available to reviewers.) Exposing myself on the net, in the process. Publishing a book feels a bit like paying someone to take off all your clothes and strutting naked through Times Square in broad daylight. You wait for the hecklers, even though you hope to God there aren't any.
Success, sometimes I think, is risking brutal failure. It's why I loved Wile E. Coyote. Say what you will about that guy, but at least he tried.