As I look back on
2014, “Don’t Panic” could be the biggest lesson I learned considering all the
changes, good and bad, that happened to me as an author. And for 2015, despite a
number of major setbacks, I have a plan to totally crush it!
If you’re familiar
with the book, “The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, you may get the humor
in this post. If not, it may not make any sense at all. But then again…readers
are smart, and I think we all have somewhat of a warped sense of humor. If you don’t
know the book, read it and get a good laugh. The story of Hitchhiker’s Guide follows
the adventures of Arthur Dent, who manages to hitchhike off earth, seconds
before it’s destroyed—to make way for an intergalactic freeway. Many of the
quotes in that book seemed directly applicable to my career glitches in 2014.
Anything in quotations in this post will be from Adam's book.
A warped sense of
humor is a good thing to have if you’re an author—indie or traditional. And boy
did I need a sense of humor. Just as everything in my publishing career seemed to be improving
and going along well—sales were increasing, I had planned to have about seven
releases out this year—a record for me, I was finally able to go indie and my
first multi-authored box set hit the New
York Times and USA Today
bestseller lists!
Then the world blew
up—aka Kindle Unlimited struck and my publisher, who I loved dearly, announced
restructuring and layoffs. It was like two asteroids striking earth at once,
because my sales plummeted, AND during this time, I had three new books
released back-to back—all three sold like crap.
What did I learn?
“Don’t Panic!” While the loops, blogs, Twitter and Facebook
were inundated with panic, rude, sad, and angry publishing ‘professionals’. I
tried my best to stay out of the fall out, and kept writing and made new goals
for the future. I don’t have control over other peoples’ business or personal
decisions, only my own.
“There’s no point in acting surprised about it.” I made the mistake of
not being as observant as I should have. I was too wrapped up in my plans and
goals, and should have had a backup plan. I ignored a few signs that hinted to
the changes to come. Things change and will continue to change. Prepare for the
worse, and don’t waste time whining or bitching about it. Set new goals and
move on. I had planned to write a couple new series, now I’ve completely
switched things around and have different goals with a backup plan. Three new
series, plus continuation of my Red Tape series and a number of other projects
are already in the works for 2015-2016. Plus a completely new business plan. I’m
very optimistic for 2015!
“The answer to the Great Question of Life, The Universe
and Everything is…42!” There are tons of advice and books out there on how to
make a million dollars and be a bestselling author. Many authors have good
intentions and believe their advice is sound. I co-authored one of those books
this year: Write
to Success And I believe there are a lot of helpful tips in that book. I’ve
learned, and continue to learn, from many talented authors and appreciate that
these authors are so generous with their time to share their knowledge, but no one
knows everything. There is no right way or the only path to success. And there
is no magic pill, no get rich quick plan. WRITE, PUBLISH, LEARN, and REPEAT. A
number of newbie authors think they’re going to crush it and get rich with one
or two or three books. Not happening. Expect many years of CONTINUED HARD WORK,
and yes, you will see some success.
A few people who have
helped me a lot this year- Thank You!!! You all rock!!!:
***Check out their podcasts and books too, both fiction and non-fiction. They have a wealth of information.***
“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and
went mad now?” Oh,
there are times I think when every author thinks they’re losing it, and
perhaps have even thought about giving up. Don’t! Authors must be part mad. How
can they possible look at their manuscript one day and it appears to be
brilliant, award-winning material, and the very next day, they read the same
book, and it’s doggie doodoo? Don’t give up, have faith in your work. Keep
writing.
When I start getting
down on myself because of a bad review (or no reviews), or because I’m writing
too slow, or I can’t figure out a scene, or my characters seem flat today, or
the book is not perfect enough, or whatever reason I come up with. I’m sure you
can come up with a few reasons on those days when writing gets you down. I’ve
decided now I’ll give myself five minutes to mope, then get back to work. I
think of this silly quote as a reminder: “Ford…you’re
turning into a penguin. Stop it!”
Final words of advice on what I learned and what I plan for
myself in 2015:
PRIORITIZE – I had to come up with a ‘Stop Doing List’.
One of those things was to stop hosting friends' new book releases on my blog. I hated doing it, because I
like to help promote my author friends. But I realized I was getting requests
to host new releases on my blog two to three times a week and many from people
I didn’t know. I only get to write at night and on weekends and I had to stop
the hosting. It was taking up a huge amount of my writing time. I decided instead I’d
host an author party a couple times a year where author friends could promote
their books on my site during a week-long event and we could give prizes away.
I also find doing topic posts draw much more traffic to my blog. I want to build my brand and an audience this way.
ORGANIZE- I’m a visual person. I bought a full year
erasable calendar I have up on my wall in my office with projects and deadlines
listed. Also recorded the dates of events, contests, conferences, etc. I’m also going to start using
Scrivener.
MEDITATE- I’ve done it before and have started again.
It does help my Type A brain to focus on one thing at a time, keep less scattered, and I sleep
better.
WRITE- That’s what writers do. Can’t edit a blank
page and can’t sell an unfinished book.
And a couple last
quotes. Sometimes we need to start a new year with a chuckle: It might be time
to re-read Douglas Adam’s book.
Happy
New Year and Happy Writing!
“I don’t want to die now!” he yelled. “I’ve still got a
headache! I don’t want to go to heaven with a headache, I’d be all cross and
wouldn’t enjoy it!”
“We are now cruising at a level of two to the power of
twenty-five thousand to one against and falling, and we will be restoring
normality just as soon as we are sure what is normal anyway.”
You know you’re a
true writer if this one rings true:
“I’d far rather be happy than right any day.” My translation: I’d
far rather be a writer than rich any day.
