Monday, April 29, 2013

Writers Working to Get Published

You think you're working to get published, but are you really?  I wrote and submitted manuscripts for years, and then one day my mentor asked me; Sandy, are you sure you want to get published?  At first, I was offended by the question, so I thought about it before answering her. 

What I finally realized is that I was afraid of the unknown.  All this time, I had basically been shooting myself in the foot.  Oh sure, I was going through the motions, and I thought I was serious, but I was afraid.  Afraid I would never be good enough, and afraid of what would happen after I was published.  Just how much was getting published going to change my life.  These were the thoughts running through my head and many more. 

I decided I loved to write, so I might as well keep learning and improving my manuscripts for submission.  Why not?  I was still doing something I loved.  Even blogging is writing, and I do that all the time.  It's fun. 

Okay, I must admit it; it did change my life.  Nothing could have prepared me for all the work involved in promoting my books after they were published.  Promotions took over my life so much that I burned out on writing altogether.  It took awhile to happen, but it wore me out, and it was impossible to write on new stories for awhile.  Finally, I gave up promoting and went back to writing, but promotion is essential to sell your books.  You have to market your books, or people will never learn about them.

Ask yourself if you really want to get published?

You can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sandra.marshall.98
My books can be found at http://www.eirelander-publishing.com under author, Sandra K. Marshall.

17 comments:

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  2. Sandy,
    It's sort of a catch-22. You have to promote to stay viable but it takes away from the writing. Balance is the key but achieving it is easier said than done. Good luck with finding a balance.

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  3. It is such a balance. The promotion is burning out so many wonderful authors. I'm trying to find that balance but also adding in my full time job! So juggling three balls. I keep waiting for one to fall! I also keep telling myself that I'll write tomorrow but then something else comes up! Ahhh I can't wait for summer!

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  4. Hi Anonymous,
    I'm glad to have helped you in some small way.

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  5. I loathe promoting - it simply eats up too much time. I do it only because it's necessary, not because I like it.

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  6. Thanks, Paris. I'm glad you have found the balance.

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  7. Melissa,
    Admit it you have more than three juggling balls with your job. lol What about family, cleaning and cooking? There's more if you want a life. Smile!

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  8. Sandy, you said it all. I too hate promoting but it's a necessary evil. I would rather spend my days writing, but I have to allocate a certain amount of time each day to write. I know authors who make excellent money and don't do a lick of promoting. If only. Balance is definitely the key. When I worked full time I did almost no promotion. In the years since I retired ebooks have exploded and most of us have to do more promoting.

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  9. Tina, I loathe it, too, but it's a necessity.

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  10. Cara, evil is right. lol We are basically unknowns, so if we didn't promote we would never be known.

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  12. I haven't found the proper balance between writing and promoting and doubt if I ever will. I dislike promoting more and more.

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  13. Jean, I share your feelings. Thanks for coming by.

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  14. Promoting can burn you out, but the key is balance. Make sure to give yourself time to be with family, and write the next book too.

    Janice~

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  15. Thanks for your comment, Janice, but it's easier said than done. Any advice on how to do it? lol

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  16. Wow, you said it all. I spend time promoting and yes, it does affect writing time. And just when you think you've got the feeds, the tweets and all under control, oh no! there's Amazon's and FB's algorithims. Shaking head. It's freakin' too much at times.

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  17. Thanks for coming by Vicki. After all the stuff mentioned there's blogs and just yours but others who offer to let you promote on their blogs. lol It never ends.

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