Friday, May 9, 2014

Celebrate: Return of the WIP


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:

Unknown said...

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...

Andrew Leon said...

I haven't spent too much time promo-ing anything at this point. I haven't really figured out how to do that.

Sean McLachlan said...

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.

Rajiv Sankarapillai said...

Interesting post ! Have to balance everything :)
Have a nice weekend :)

Heather R. Holden said...

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!

Kate Larkindale said...

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.

Kate Larkindale said...

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.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

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.

JeffO said...

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!

Stephanie Faris said...

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.

Shah Wharton said...

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

Inge H. Borg said...

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.

mshatch said...

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.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

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!

Birgit said...

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!

SK Anthony said...

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!

Suzanne Furness said...

Glad you're a happy writer, long may it continue. Have a great weekend :)

Loni Townsend said...

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

cleemckenzie said...

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.

Unknown said...

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!

stephen Hayes said...

I know authors who are promoting their books and it seems to me that promoting a book is much harder than writing one.

Nana Prah said...

Enjoy your wip's company before you want to throttle it instead of hug it.

Cathrina Constantine said...

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.

messymimi said...

Not having that muse, i can only stand in awe of those who do, and say i'm glad you are back at it!

Ava Quinn said...

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!! :)

Leandra Wallace said...

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.

DMS said...

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

T.F. Walsh said...

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.

Cathy Keaton said...

I wouldn't know about this promo stuff. I'm having a hard enough time just doing that thing writers are supposed to do!

klahanie said...

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 :)

kimlajevardi.com said...

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. :)

Anonymous said...

Enjoy it, Lexa. I would much rather focus on writing and let somebody else take care of the marketing. Maybe someday...

shelly said...

Promotion time is an exhausting time.

Nas said...

I go between the editing project and writing the requested partial...find it really hard at the moment.

All the best Lexa!

Unknown said...

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.

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

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.

TBM said...

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!

Frankie Miller said...

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.

Jay Noel said...

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?

Catherine Stine said...

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.

Unknown said...

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.

Kelly Steel said...

Interesting and yes, so true. Have to keep everything balanced.

Kelly Hashway said...

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. ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Congrats to you for returning to your WIP! It's a great feeling isn't it.

Unknown said...

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!

Courtney Conover said...

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.

Heather Musk said...

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!

Unknown said...

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!

Unknown said...

Glad to see that your are back.

Rhonda Albom said...

Love your welcome back teddy bear. Congratulations on getting back to writing.

Ruth Schiffmann said...

So glad you're back at your WIP and loving it. I hope I find my way back to that place soon.

Carol Kilgore said...

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.

Vanessa Morgan said...

I don't mind the promo because unconsciouly I use that time to order my thoughts for a new story.

Anonymous said...

I have 3 abandoned drafts because I'm busy promoting. I can't wait to return to them.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

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.) :)

Crystal Collier said...

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.

LD Masterson said...

Well, to be honest, I'd enjoy having something out there right now TO promote. A "grass is always greater" thing, I guess.

Unknown said...

Welcome back. It is nice to see you writing again.

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