http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLP6dOD3q0M
This has not been a fun week for author me. Sales have been in the gutter, which made the ranks fall pretty quickly. This opened me up to the usual, panic-inducing question from people:
- Are you okay?
- What went wrong?
- Is someone sabotaging you?
- Are you going to go Perma-Free?
- Is it time for you to quit and get a real job? (‘LOVE’ this one.)
It’s rather maddening and I have no idea how to get myself out of this. I’ve done the social media promoting at various times in the day, but nothing strikes fool’s gold much less the real stuff. I simply can’t figure it out and the monthly promotion stuff is still going on, so it isn’t like I can up that without taking out a billboard or doing something stupid enough to get on the news. The books are simply stuck. I tried leaving them alone overnight as far as Facebook goes and it didn’t change anything. It really isn’t even the numbers that drive me nuts, but people who contact me to give condolences when the career isn’t even dead. I can shrug off only so much before I start wearing done and have to rant on my blog where everyone can see. So this opening is an attempt to clear the emotional sinuses.
In other news, I’m still editing along and it’s feeling more and more like a slog. I think it’ll get better when I reach the unpublished books. Though, I’m still worried about Book 8 because it has so many stories going on at once that it feels disjointed in my mind. That’s a tough thing because that actually makes sense. The overall plot is Yola Biggs the Chaos Goddess transforming the heroes into ‘something’ and sending them in different directions, so I had to take time to follow everyone. This means there’s a story for Sari, Luke, Delvin, Timoran, Nyx, 6th champion, and Yola herself. It was a balancing act that I can’t wait to revisit, but I need to make sure the continuity is good all the way through. In other words, I can’t skip books and that’s wearing me down too.
Personal life-wise, I’m in the same holding pattern. My son is enjoying school and we’re doing homework. He was the topic of the week, which went well for the beginning and then tapered off. Means personal stories can only go for so long. Well, I’ll be back to a writing topic this week and I’ll hopefully have enough from yesterday’s ‘MONSTER MAKER FUN’ to do more than music videos during the last week of October. (AT THIS TIME I ONLY HAVE ONE VOLUNTEER!) Not really much else to discuss there. Wife’s birthday was yesterday and we’re seeing a movie/getting lunch today. It’s miserable weather, so it’s a low key weekend. At least as low key as it can be with Mr. Mischief/Mini-Hulk.
What do I plan on doing this week?
- Continue editing Family of the Tri-Rune. It’s going quicker than the last ones, so I might even finish by the end of next weekend. I lose Monday to Columbus Day, which is going to cost me. Lost last Monday to the eye doctor. White screens and eye dilation are a mess.
- Prepare the dinner list for when my parents are away. I have 14 dishes to prepare for, so my writing/editing time will shrink some more.
- Curse at my WordPress app because the damn thing hasn’t updated the notification section since Thursday.
- Watch Giants Vs Eagles tonight.
- Maybe toy around with the bounty hunter idea some more or do more work on the Yola Biggs story. I keep going near my notebooks and never get very far. I might have to put in a notebook day between editing runs.
- Wish good health, good luck, and quick recovery to a friend.
- Try to get over my own mental funk and not beat people over the head with a baseball bat for asking if my career is over.
Legends of Windemere 
Three things I’ve learned from the authors I’ve met on my blog are:
1. Write what YOU like, not what’s ‘flavour of the month’
2. Be prepared for the long haul (usually through crocodile infested swamps).
3. Hope to sell, but don’t bank on it!
My advice?
Relax, chill, float and go with the flow until you get enough energy back to take control and swim again 😀
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1. Fully agree. I don’t think I have it in me to do anything else. I tried listening to others when I was younger and it created an atrocity against literature. At least in my mind it did.
2. I have my patented crocodile repellent. It’s really just a large club and a few ‘volunteers’ to swim out ahead of me. Works against alligators too. Not on hippos.
3. Fingers are crossed. At least when I’m not typing.
That relaxing part is always the challenge. At least when you have an ADD kid running around. People are amazed that he doesn’t eat a lot of sugar.
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I’ve often considered starting a throwaway story for the times I’m in a funk. If I’m working hard on a fantasy, my throwaway would be the complete opposite. I’d write this out with no outline of any kind, and break all the rules. I wouldn’t even research facts. This story could serve as a reset button, and I could add a page whenever I wanted.
I could use every adverb ever invented. I would tell and not show, and use the most creative dialog tags in history.
After salving my wounds for a page or two, I could return to my WIP and get back to work. I have no idea whether it would work, but it sounds right for me.
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I’ve done a few throwaways, but lately I’ve just moved to a WIP outline to follow another path. It still feels like progress and sometimes leads to help with the other issue. It doesn’t happen often these days. Right now it’s just that editing gauntlet I dove into. No amount of deviation is going to help there because it’ll always be waiting. I figure it’s a good thing though. I make it to the end of this and I’ll have an easier time in the future.
I think the thing with me and the dialog tags is that I rarely went without them. So just having them all in the first draft and going through to clean up might be the best idea. I think I’m so used to reading through it right after finishing that I can’t function any other way.
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Editing wears me out. I don’t know if I’ll ever get good at it, but I’m trying.
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I think the trick is to improve to the point where you don’t have to do it countless times. I’d be happy getting to the point where I only have to do 2-3 editing runs.
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That would be wonderful. I’m not quite that clever.
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Jury is still out on me. Half the time I think they’re stalling because they get free food as long as the court case continues.
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I can sympathise!
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We should make a club. 🙂
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Absolutely! If we band together, our combined sales would make a significant dent in Amazon’s downloads. Though I’m certain you’ve sold a heck of a lot more than me… 😉
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Indie Authors unite! Then start fighting because we only have one pen to share. 😛
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Some thoughts: Maybe mixing up the pieces having a personal post one day and a writing topic another would do better than week run of either? You might even try setting specific days for each. I know I need to organize some sort of schedule. I fly by the seat of my pants and that might be confusing to folk.
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That’s what I’m planning after the new year. Monday for personal stuff, Wednesday for writing stuff, Friday for a skit/humor, and Saturday night will have the weekly Goal post.
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It’s just one of these weeks/months/years (remember the Friends’ soundtrack?). I have been -and still am- through one of those. I don’t really have something comforting to say, other than, “I know how you feel”. But being an optimist, things are bound to get better!
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It seems that way. I was probably spoiled that I was doing well for so long and then hit a wall a few months ago. It’s a difficult adjustment because I can’t tell if it’s natural or something I did wrong. Though I keep trying, so I don’t think I’m the cause. Good point on things getting better. As long as I keep pushing forward, I’ll make some headway. (Just wish the people with the gravedigger spades would stop following me around like vultures.)
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Career over? I give my left er arm to have your sales. Keep going my friend. it is the long term that is the goal.
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Thanks. That’s where I get tripped up with the conversations. Every career has low activity periods. Retail, office work, etc. all have these moments, so I don’t know why this is getting some people to freak out like I’m about to fall into an abyss.
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I like the phrase precipice of the abyss
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It’s fun and dramatic. Love using it when I can.
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I think that’s a good idea you have there–going on the local news or on TV stations where your book is set. However, if it’s fantasy and the places are fictitious, you may have trouble finding a TV station from that same area. But anyway, local news is a great boon for a writer. There’s always looking for folks to fill in a minute or two between major stories–sort of like public interest stories–and I don’t see why yours wouldn’t qualify. I say go for it! You have nothing to lose!
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Good idea. Being in the news to promote the book would make more sense that just being on there for public disturbances. :p
Seriously, I keep running into brick walls with local news since I haven’t done anything special to that extent. Only if I snag a contract, grab the top of a Top 100 list, or do something ‘amazing’.
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Or you can spin the query for the interview in a way that it would make your books relevant to what’s happening now. Sometimes all they’re looking for is a story to fit between stories that connect. It would me, though, keeping an eye on what’s happening and drawing a thread from your stories to what is current.
You’ll never know then, some big producer might want to get in touch with you all because he/she saw you on TV!
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Hard to do with fantasy. Maybe the next Hobbit movie will help.
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When something’s hot, I find it easy to work on that, but when it cools off, I like a little distraction. Have you thought about one of your other wip’s or ideas that aren’t part of the series?
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Yes and no. Unfortunately everything kind of works off the first series.
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I’m sorry you’re going through this, Charles. I’m looking forward though to your visit on the blog. I need to get that post ready to go up on the 17th. 🙂
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Looking forward to it too. I think this week is going to be an edge of the storm thing. Just a gut feeling.
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. . . . . Are people REALLY asking if your career is over/giving you condolences?
I seriously wish you could see my face right now. It’s sort of like this ~~> -_- only if the ‘mouth’ was open. I’m ACTUALLY gaping about that.
I mean, having a drop/gap in sales is normal. It just HAPPENS.
I really can’t blame you for getting pissed off about that. I think you’re handling it much better than I probably would have. I’m sure this is one of those times where ‘being nice’ isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do.
Anyway, I hope things get better for you in that regard (and all others). I’m sure they will. It’s fall, so I’d imagine sales will pick back up soon. And I’d also imagine you’re getting relatively close to releasing the next one, so I’m sure that’ll help.
Also, the ‘real job’ thing? If someone said that straight to my face (rather than the looks I’ve gotten that say it without saying it)? Well, I was going to say I’d have a very colorful response to that, but I’m not sure. I might actually laugh about it.
Ridiculous.
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So this? -o-
Being nice is really tough during those moments. The temptation to spew a fountain of swear words and colorful phrases is there. I can’t even say I’m shrugging it off. The issue certainly has me moving slower in terms of editing and writing.
Things should pick up in December since it’s around Christmas time. If I’m lucky then I’ll have a new book to release too. Still needs more editing and the cover art, so at least I’m at that stage. I can’t say with any assurance that I’ll have it by December though. Too many delays keep cropping up like me finding out today that I lost this weekend.
Don’t even get me started on the ‘real job’ thing. The author path seems to infinitely more difficult, but more rewarding than the office jobs that people keep suggesting to me.
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Yeah, I try to be nice all the time (even in real life), and it gets EXTREMELY hard sometimes. (If I can’t manage ‘nice,’ I go with ‘polite.’) With what we were talking about here, if I were dealing that, it very well might be one of those instances that caused me to disappear for a while until I’d calmed down enough.
I’m sorry it’s slowed you down. Are you feeling closer to 100% now?
It really is difficult to hit projected release dates when so many things are out of your hands. I really hope for smooth sailing with your next release. I know your last one was super frustrating.
I could never be happy in an office job. I really don’t think I could ever be happy doing ANYTHING else. It really irks me how people try to perpetuate the cycle of others being miserable and not following their dreams, just because it’s what people are ‘supposed’ to do. I don’t want to get started on it, or I’ll end up on a tangent.
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I’m making headway, but you wouldn’t believe some of the ridiculous delays that have cropped up. I can’t even mention some of them in public. Just one of those instances where I have to look up at the sky and go “Really? You’re so bored that you have to throw me a random curve ball?”
I’ll be contacting Jason after next weekend for an update. I know he has a convention in November, so I’ll have more then. I’ll be starting my final editing run next month too. That shouldn’t take too long.
I was happy in one office job and a retail job, but the rest were either misery or I simply went through the motions. I’m not even sure it’s perpetuating misery so much that they think it’s a secure job. In my experience, office work is probably one of the least secure careers out there because it’s so easy to be fired due to someone else’s mistake.
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