Everything about having your book released is crazy--whether you're editing, waiting for your cover, organizing blog tours, or refreshing your GoodReads page. You might think that once your book comes out, everything will smooth out.
Well, it doesn't. Not quite. Encouraging, right? :-)
Fear not, fellow authors, for I have some tips to help keep you focused post-release! Huzzah!
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1. Read a few reviews if you want, but then stop once you've read enough. I made the mistake of checking GoodReads the day of my signing and stumbled across a low star-rating and a negative review. Not fun.
1.5. Don't Google Your Name + Book Title + Review.
2. Stay on top of mailing things out. Many authors, myself included, run contests/giveaways leading up to the Big Day. In my case, though, I got behind in mailing prizes out, which I feel incredibly bad about. But with everything going on (aka launch party), I simply got swamped and then a week later, school started. Awesome.
3. Don't think about all the things you want to change in your book. I actually haven't read Hunted since it came out besides the prologue, which I use for readings, because I don't want to see all the sentences I could've written better or the dialogue I could've made smoother. It's hard not to see the inevitable flaws, but instead of thinking about those, think about how proud you are of yourself and how awesomesauce it is that you're a published author. It's much more fun than beating yourself up about the little things.
4. Keep writing. And, most importantly, don't worry about what will be published next. Just write and have fun.
5. Enjoy life. You managed to get a book published, now try something new while working on your next project. New experiences = new material for stories. New experiences = fun.
I haven't been published, but I can only imagine how hard number 3 would be for me. Agh, I didn't even think about that!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Thank you, D.J.!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely won't be doing #1.5, LOL. I can't even stand to read other people's beastly reviews (people can be so unnecessarily cruel!), so I know I won't be reading my own.
I think #4 is maybe the most important! I tend to lose my creativity mojo when I'm on a worrying stint, and it's so important not to lose that love of story. I know other people have the same problem. Keep writing! :)
great advice, I'm going to have to deal with this in a few months your advice is very timely. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat, great, great suggestions. I especially like #4. All the craziness of post-publication kept me from writing for a while, and part of the reason was because I didn't want to think about going through it all again - so setting aside thoughts of publication while writing has been tremendously helpful.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I haven't been able to bring myself to read Three Daves since it's been published either! Haha.
Haha, I would have problems with #3 :P
ReplyDeleteHmmm.. #3 is good. I have one book out and made this mistake. I love your advice. If and when the second comes, I'm not going to read it again.(except for the beginning excerpt) No way!
ReplyDelete