“I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and thinner.”
Louis Pasteur
As I’ve mentioned before, things rarely come easy to me. My writing journey is a perfect example. I started writing in 2008 but didn’t publish my first book until the fall of 2021. It took me 13 years before I thought my story was good enough to launch into the world. And even then, after reader feedback, I rewrote and republished book 1. I know I need to get a lot better if I’m to be successful.
For the first part of my writing journey (pre-publishing), all I did was research, write, and rewrite. I would occasionally spend time gathering information on how to publish. But I’m a Luddite and a single-tasker, which means I did one thing at a time –focused on my story and learning how to write. I figured I’d learn how to publish when I had to do it. Which meant it took about a month to learn how to format, set up accounts, and publish. It was painful and frustrating because there’s so much to learn.
After getting all three formats out in multiple channels (Amazon, Draft2Digital, and Ingram Spark), I went back to writing and figured that I’d use book 2 to improve my publishing skills. Book 2 was a little faster and a little easier than the first time, but since I was also doing a revised book 1, it took me almost as long as the first time. And it was still frustrating as I encountered new problems (like linking books to a series and dealing with glitches at Amazon – my different formats still haven’t gotten linked yet). Net, I was glad I didn’t try to add other skill sets.
I also have another reason why I haven’t started marketing yet. I call it ‘The Netflix impact’ or ‘the beauty of streaming.’ I was hooked on streaming as soon as I started watching my first tv series on Netflix. Now, I skip any series where all the episodes aren’t available. I soon realized the same thing was true for me with books – now that I do almost all my book shopping online. I don’t want to start reading a series until I know multiple books are out there.
Next Steps
1. I’ve got to fix my Amazon and Goodreads setup issues for book 2.
2. I’m currently rewriting book 3 (9th draft so far). I’ll rewrite/edit it at least once more before sending it out to my beta readers for feedback. Then I’ll go back to rewriting/editing. I figure I’ll rewrite it three more times before I publish.
3. In the next few weeks, I’ll start working on the cover art for book 3.
4. I will take a few tentative marketing steps in the next few months, but nothing too time-consuming. Namely:
a. I’m going to work on my Amazon Author Central
b. I’m going to my oldest daughter’s school and talking to some kids about what it’s like to be an author.
c. I’ll order some extra copies of book 1 (that’s the book I’m going to concentrate my marketing efforts on) and go to some local libraries and try to get it placed.
5. Next fall, I’ll:
a. Publish book 3
b. Hopefully, go on my research trip to Greece and Spain for books 5 & 7. I postponed it from this last January because of Covid lockdowns in Europe.
6. After I get book 3 published – then I’ll start marketing
7. Start rewriting book 4.
8. Gradually add more and more marketing efforts (I haven’t decided which ones) as time goes on.
9. Finish rewriting and publishing the 8 book Maqlû series
10. Start writing the prequel series (I’ve already started mapping out the story).
It’s a good thing I love writing because the amount of work is daunting.
I chose the picture below for two reasons. One, my travel-guide daughter took it on our first trip. Two, the steep steps to this Mayan temple remind me that there’s a lot ahead on my writing and publishing journey. (By the way, we didn’t get to climb this temple because the stairs are crumbling, and no one is allowed on them. But what a sight!)
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