I returned to my WIP this week.
We laughed
We cried.
We hugged.
And there was much rejoicing!
I don't know how long the honeymoon will last considering the vast revisions I have to plow through. But at the moment, I'm a happy camper!
It wasn't just the A-Z that kept me busy. My novel released in December, and I got caught up in promo-ing, doing interviews and guest posts, holding giveaways on several sites, endlessly searching out book bloggers for reviews, and committing myself to featuring and/or reviewing others' novels.
Yes, it was a social media circus!
Finally, 90% of that is done. My time is freed up, and I can do that thing a writer is supposed to do -- WRITE!
Do you get fed up with promo-ing? Would you actually stop doing it to give yourself more time to write?
This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week. It can be about writing or family or school or general life. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!
58 comments:
I would LOVE to stop doing promo--I'm not very good at talking about myself in the first place, and I feel uncomfortable trying to get people to buy my book, even though I really want them to! :)
Your WIP looks so friendly! Mine feels like a porcupine right now--prickly and a little grumpy. We're still figuring each other out...
I haven't spent too much time promo-ing anything at this point. I haven't really figured out how to do that.
I'm about to get pulled away form my WIP thanks to a big editing job. I'll keep working on it but my daily word count will go way down for the next month.
I need to get better at promotion and getting Radio Hope out to reviewers.
Interesting post ! Have to balance everything :)
Have a nice weekend :)
Promotion is always so time-consuming. I can see how that would eat up valuable writing time for you! Glad you've been able to return to your WIP, at long last!
I'm SO with you there... I hate doing promo. Obviously I want people to read my books, but talking about it and myself makes me really uncomfortable, so doing promo makes me feel dirty. I guess I need to get over that.
I'm SO with you there... I hate doing promo. Obviously I want people to read my books, but talking about it and myself makes me really uncomfortable, so doing promo makes me feel dirty. I guess I need to get over that.
I know the feeling! I missed my manuscript last month.
It is a promo circus, but it's the only way to succeed. You don't, your books won't sell.
I'm glad you're feeling so well-disposed to your WiP! Me, I'm at that stage where I say, "Yeah, I'd love to have to promote"--maybe one of these days, I will. But I'd rather write than promote, personally. Enjoy writing!
When I was first starting out, I attended a workshop where the author admitted she'd rather be out promoting her books than writing. That was the oddest thing I'd ever heard! I have a feeling she hasn't had a very successful career--I can't even remember what her name was. I think it's important that we DO enjoy writing more than promoting. I have my first bookstore event next Thursday and...yikes.
Promo is a colossal time suck and yes, at times I like to take a week off. I may have to take a month off soon for ghostwriting gigs and WIP stuff. Great to hear you're back writing. :)
http://iurl.no/4u35h
Lexa, that is exactly how I feel. I, too got caught up in all "that other stuff," and hence lost my zest to sit down and just write. Thanks for the reminder what is, after all, most important to a writer: Writing.
Isn't it great when you love your wip that much? I'm almost done with mine - I'm on the last chapter - and then it's off to revision land.
And yes, promoting myself and my book is at the bottom of the list of things I want to do. If I had the money, I'd totally hire someone else to do it.
For the most part, I love interacting on social media, so I don't mind the promotions.
The only time I really withdraw from it is when I'm totally absorbed in the WIP (like writing the climax) or when I have too many writing deadlines close together: like proof-reading one manuscript while revising another.
Congrats on returning to your WIP!
I am not a writer but I think I would rather write, create, anything than have to promote. I can easily promote other people's achievements but to stand/sit and promote what I would have to do would not be on my hit parade of fun things to do. So good luck to your writing!
I'm still catching up on all my to-dos before I can dedicate my life to writing again. BUT congrats for being in the honeymoon phase. Be sweet, rough, and tough to your MS, you know it likes it that way. :P lol
S.K.Anthony: Let's Celebrate!
Glad you're a happy writer, long may it continue. Have a great weekend :)
I suppose I'd have to be promo-ing in order to stop.
Your WIP looks like one I'd like to get to know. :D
I think I might have taken up coal mining if I'd known what I was getting into with this writing stuff. I need a major vacation.
Congrats on that reunion with your W.I.P. Looking forward to your next creation.
Im pretty pathetic with the promo stuff.... congrats on being able to write and take a deep breath... I have to go get my book today... Had a fam thing right after I wrote to you! Never did the download... today, today, today!
I know authors who are promoting their books and it seems to me that promoting a book is much harder than writing one.
Enjoy your wip's company before you want to throttle it instead of hug it.
Yikes, I dislike self-promotion. Maybe that's why my books are sink down the proverbial tubes...So good your back to doing what you like best, writing. Have a great weekend.
Not having that muse, i can only stand in awe of those who do, and say i'm glad you are back at it!
Hooray for returning to your wip! I'm also returning to mine now that atoz and environmental field days are over.
I know I'll hate to do promo once I get to that point. My introvert won't let me feel right about putting myself out there. (She's very demanding.)
Glad you're back to doing what you do so well! Writing!! :)
Nothing like some good ol' WIP love! =) Glad you've got time going for you again, there's nothing more frustrating than wanting to write, but can't.
Congrats on getting back to your WIP. It sounds like such fun. I won't get back to mine until I get through my next round of edits. But I know we will meet again soon. :) There is certainly a lot more that goes into being a writer than I ever expected. Best of luck and happy writing.
~Jess
Yay... great to have you back into writing:) Promoting takes up so much time.. it's great to do, but sometimes I believe you need a bit of time off... every few months, I give myself a month off from not doing any promotions and just focusing on writing.
I wouldn't know about this promo stuff. I'm having a hard enough time just doing that thing writers are supposed to do!
Hey Lexa,
You can relax now. Yep, I have arrived with one of my incredibly wonderful comments! Note how humble I am.
You returned to your WIP? That's real good now that I found out what the heck a WIP is. Cute Teddy and I reckon a darned good writer.
I shall avoid the reference to that ridiculous alphabet challenge :)
My pawmotion is done by Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!
No joining some Kinky, Slinky list. Blog hops, blog fests and weird fascinations with the alphabet equals yuck!
A peaceful remainder of the weekend to you, Lexa.
Gary :)
I haven't had to promo anything yet, so I can't speak to that. But, speaking as a fan of yours, I look forward to you working on your WIP. :)
Enjoy it, Lexa. I would much rather focus on writing and let somebody else take care of the marketing. Maybe someday...
Promotion time is an exhausting time.
I go between the editing project and writing the requested partial...find it really hard at the moment.
All the best Lexa!
I've never done much by way of promotion for myself-- I just enjoy promoting others. Which is why I'm just focusing on writing-- not sure what will happen if the WIP gets to the publication stage.
It is so easy to work on everything except promo-ing a novel. I congratulate you for all the work you put into marketing your novel released in December . . . a great plan of action for me to follow. Thanks for sharing.
Great news! I know how draining promotion can be. It's not just the hours, but's it's emotionally draining as well. Good luck. I can't wait to read your next book!
Hi Lexa
I've been meaning to join your site for so long, but here I am at last!
Anything that prevents writers from actually writing is frustrating. I'm glad you've got to the stage where you can continue.
All the best.
We're on the same timeline, it seems. My debut came out right after yours. I too got lost in all that craziness.
It's nice to get back to hammering out a book, doesn't it?
I do get weary of promo work. But when I'm in the midst of it, I do try to make it a fun challenge. But of course the writing is the most fun! I just posted on my own writing process over at Idea City. Always curious about other people's process too.
Lately, I've been trying to find more time writing and less time promoting and networking. I've spent two years submerging myself in social media and over this time, my writing has suffered. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to the olden days where there was less web-surfing and more conversations, letter writing and focusing on what moves us each day of our lives. But then again, we wouldn't have so many open doors with the vast opportunities both traditional and independent publishing present us with today. Social media has its ups and downs. When it takes time away from my writing, it bothers me a bit but if we want to be successful, I guess we just have to balance our time better. Great post, Lexa.
Interesting and yes, so true. Have to keep everything balanced.
Hey, Lexa! With YALitChat gone, I feel like I haven't "seen" you in forever!
I spent most of my day today on promo stuff for The Monster Within. I'm 5 weeks away from the release and starting to get everything really moving. Would I rather be writing? I think we both know the answer to that. ;)
Congrats to you for returning to your WIP! It's a great feeling isn't it.
I haven't done a lot of promo-ing myself, but I do hate it when I have an idea in my head and there isn't enough time to write it down. :) World, stop giving me so much school!
Lexa, as one who has dreamed of one day landing a book deal, all I can say is this: I hope to God that I have the "problem" of experiencing a social media circus.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I shall live vicariously through you.
But, seriously, what with everything you've got going on, I am so grateful that you find the time to visit little 'ol me.
THANK YOU.
I don't have much to promo at the moment so I have much more time to spend on my writing. I really should utilise it a bit more ;-)
From reading about yours and others bloggers experiences when the time comes I need to get super organised. I look forward to those times!
Fantastic idea! I've signed up. Good luck with the promo and the social media circus. I agree, just being able to write is something to be grateful for!
Glad to see that your are back.
Love your welcome back teddy bear. Congratulations on getting back to writing.
So glad you're back at your WIP and loving it. I hope I find my way back to that place soon.
I know where you're coming from. I'm getting ready to go into the promo cycle. It takes gearing up and winding down. I'd love for there to be two of me - one for promotion and one for writing.
I don't mind the promo because unconsciouly I use that time to order my thoughts for a new story.
I have 3 abandoned drafts because I'm busy promoting. I can't wait to return to them.
Yay for writing time. Happy you're back doing what you love: writing.
I'd gladly give up promoting and spend all my time writing, but no one would know I existed. :( (Few know anyhow.) :)
LOL. No. According to my husband I just push harder so I can do it all anyway. *sigh* Sometimes I long for those pre-pub days.
Well, to be honest, I'd enjoy having something out there right now TO promote. A "grass is always greater" thing, I guess.
Welcome back. It is nice to see you writing again.
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