Important news out of the way first:
Magic Most Deadly is now available through Nook, and the paperback version is available through Amazon. iTunes has proven … challenging, so I’m still working on that.
The Goodreads giveaway is still going – it’s open until the 10th, so go enter if you haven’t done so yet!
If anyone would like an autographed bookplate for Magic Most Deadly, just send me an email with your name and address, and I’ll send one to you, free of charge. If you want to send me your actual physical copy of the book to autograph, I’ll do that, too, but I’ll have to ask you to pay for the shipping on that.
So then! There’s the housekeeping done (if only real housekeeping could get taken care of that easily).
My first week of being a “Real Author” with a “Real Published Novel” has passed, and I’ve learned some important things.
1) I don’t like self-publishing for the sake of self-publishing. By which I mean, I understand and appreciate what self-publishing allows me to do. I do not like messing about with figuring out formatting, hunting for a cover designer (even when I find a good one!), uploading the book to each seller, marketing myself, etc.
There’s nothing wrong with any of those things. I just get frustrated with the time doing them well takes away from actual writing. I don’t have a whole lot of time to devote to writing as it is (okay, and I do waste some of it just because I am SO TIRED these days and so much of my free time is spent on cat naps or comfort reading), and I get twitchy when I have to sacrifice my writing time to business time.
It is a business, and I get that. I’m not complaining. But I felt it was a rather important discovery for myself – that I do the self-publishing because it is the best choice for me right now, but I don’t have to love it. I love what it does for me. I’m not crazy about the process. And that’s okay.
One of the other things I’ve learned is that even being a published author doesn’t change a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Dishes still had to get washed, laundry still had to be done, schoolwork taken care of, meals made, friends visited with, insomnia dealt with, life lived.
On the other hand, accomplishing a goal you’ve held since second grade is pretty damn awesome even if it isn’t earth-shattering, and I’m not gonna lie. Last Monday, I felt more like a rock star than I ever have and likely ever will again.
(Unless my fairy godmother suddenly gives me the ability to skate at the level I’ve always dreamed of, and I get to join Stars on Ice. And Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Torvill & Dean, and Kristi Yamaguchi are all in it again as well. So yeah, not likely to happen.)
The only other matter of interest from this week is that I finally broke down and joined Instagram. Yippee! I’m trying not to go too crazy with it.
How was this first week of October for all of you, friends?
Yes, many realizations about any publishing route! Regardless of the route though, there would be business things to take care of. And I promise – the formatting…etc / the workflow gets easier with each book. The first one is the hardest and the learning curve. Again, congrats on reaching a dream!
Thanks so much, Laura! Nice to think that it might get easier with the next one. 🙂
You’re going to continue to feel like a rock star, E.L., because you are one! 😀 Seriously, it’s such a massive hump to get over getting that first story out into the world. But once you have, and you get a few good reviews from complete strangers, it’ll get in your blood. You’ll want to do it again, but even better… and BIGGER! = rock star mentality. 🙂
HUGE congrats on reaching your goal!
And you’re 100% correct: You don’t have to love self-publishing. It’s definitely like running your own business, and that also means it’s tiring and tedious a lot of the time. And it certainly eats into your writing time. There are drawbacks to every kind of publishing, though. (Something I have to remind myself of when I’ve been formatting so long my eyes are crossing…) My feeling is that indie publishing is an opportunity, and if we choose to take that path, we must also choose to make the most of it–good and bad–just the same as we would if were traditionally publishing.
Thanks for the encouragement, E.J.! My sister has owned and operated her own business since she was a teenager (darned over-achiever, making her little sister look lazy), so I definitely had some idea of the work involved, but it’s a lot different when it is YOUR business, not you working alongside someone else. And there are perks, too. Like getting to choose my own cover, and working on my schedule instead of someone else’s deadline … good and bad, just like everything worth having in this life!
I agree with you. I love the writing part…the marketing, not so much. These aren’t the “old days” and no matter how you’re published, you can’t have one without the other. Oh, well, I’m just thankful I can write and have my words read. 🙂
Congratulations on the book!!
The marketing is SO hard. I am still working on a way to say “Hey, buy my book! And then leave a review!” without sounding like a jerk. Or feeling like one. Maybe I’ll figure it out in another twenty years.