New year / new writing habits !?!

Hey guys! Let me first say, happy new year!!!  Sorry for the lapse in posts. I could say the holiday season was stressful and bonkers, but most of it had to do with me just being lazy and lax with my writing. Well, that's not entirely true. I wrote, just not stuff for books or blogs. But the holidays ARE stressful - excessive spending because it never feels like I bought enough gifts, coordinating plans around everyone's schedules, cooking, baking, shopping (or in my case, opening amazon boxes when they arrive). I enjoy gift-giving, a little too much. Seeing smiles and excitement on people's faces brings me happiness. The downfall comes when the bills arrive. I overdo it. Every 👏Single 👏 Year 👏

But enough about my unhealthy spending habits and innate need to overcompensate in for areas which I lack. Within the last few days, I've been contemplating different publishing options for my next book. I touched on it in the last blog - a women's contemporary piece about a boss and his assistant. Two beta readers (that's what I'm calling my trusty friends), have read it. I have revised it a bit since then, but the meat and potatoes remain the same. It's the most complete standalone piece I have at the moment and moving forward with it only makes sense. 

I spoke with an avid reader (whom I trust) about reviewing it for me and she agreed. So within the next two weeks, give or take, I'll have some feedback and tweak it where it needs tweaking before sending it to the publishing company I used for BTC OR really buckled down and train myself on self-publishing through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).  I suspect this beta reader won't like the ending of the new novel, only because she hates most book endings except Behind the Canvas, so there's that. But a previous reader texted me at midnight when she finished it to say, "Don't do this to me." 🤷‍♀️

It's exciting to put out new work though. Invigorating. I miss that feeling, it's rewarding completing something and seeing it through to the end instead of letting it collect dust on a hard drive. These few months with zero productivity put me in a serious mental funk. I felt lazy and uninspired, guilty that I wasn't creating anything and I hate to admit it, but I felt worthless for wasting each day. Instead, I focused on learning how to promote. Thanks, YouTube. My advertisements could be sharper, more eye-catching, but knowing the little things I put out did generate engagements, video views, and a handful of sales is rewarding just the same. 

There's so much more for me to learn about promoting and marketing though. I joined a new FB group, and it's got a wealth of knowledge from a slew of successful self-publishers and traditional publishers. They offer a ton of advice for productivity, resources for beta readers and other services, but they also offer advice for successful advertising, marketing, and finding readers who'll become followers (blog followers 😉😉, or any social media follower). Here I thought writing was the hard part...pffft! This is an eye-opening journey for me. And you guys are witnessing it live...have fun watching me struggle. 😥

In all seriousness, this year I will be more active with this blog, writing more stories, and attempting to publish other work because I look forward to sharing. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone a very prosperous new year. May this year bring blessings all around. 

#writingcommunity #writerscommunity #blogging #blogsense