Having a Becky Day

Lately, I've had my nose to the grindstone to pay for a new stove, to pay attention to a sick family member, and to read some books that I've been putting off reading. Oh, yeah, and then there's the work-in-progress (WIP).

The sick family member is approaching stability, the stove is in and by the end of this week I will have it paid for with my side-hustle job. So, in the middle of this week, I was surprised to find I had a full day with no appropriate articles to write, and nothing on the calendar. So I plopped my butt in my chair and had a Becky kind of day. I got to do exactly what I have been dying to do--get back into my WIP and then read one of my good friend's books.

It was a day to recharge, one which I sorely needed but wasn't even aware I was being dragged down.

So, I got a couple more chapters edited in my WIP, and got deep into my friend's book. I finished reading the book today, but can't say the same about the WIP. That will take a little bit longer. But I think I'll schedule a Becky Day once a week. It puts a different shine on the rest of the week.

Friends Keep You Grounded

I complained last week to a friend about having to manually clean my oven and how much bother it was. She asked if I didn't have a self-cleaning feature on the oven, and I said the oven was older than I am. She pointed out that it would have to have been a pot bellied stove in that case! Leave it to a friend to tell it like it is.

But sometimes friends aren't the only ones to keep you grounded. I got a review from a stranger to me of Dance With Destiny, one of my books that was released a couple years ago. Here's a bit of the review:  "My advice: Ignore the cheesy stock-picture cover (the same that appears on half the Native American romance books out there!) and make the plunge. You won't regret it." I appreciate every review I get, but this one made me laugh, and I love it. 

https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Destiny-Becky-Lower-ebook/dp/B01MQQGGFJ/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1546621754&sr=8-11&keywords=becky+lower

It's a new year with new opportunities, and I'm eager to get started with everything. And I'm counting on my friends (and acquaintances who have taken the time to read one of my books) to keep me grounded. 

Ready For Launch

Anyone who has a book for sale knows that getting the book published is only the first step in a very long, winding, ever-changing and sometimes costly, road. Marketing of your book is something you don't really think about when you're writing it and trying to find a publisher. But it's a vital part of any author's duties, regardless of whether you're an independent publisher, with a small press, or with one of the big boys.

My eighth historical in my series comes out on September 7. By now, I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't. One of the things I'm cutting back on is the guest blogs. They all take time to write and post, and it's time that could be better spent. I'll appear on a handful, but I will no longer appear on three a day during release week, as I've done in the past. It's hard to tell what works and what doesn't in the best of circumstances, but if you start muddying the waters with multiple blog posts, you'll never know where those sales are coming from.

In addition to blog sites, there are review sites. I've got my favorites, those who have reviewed me in the past and were complimentary, so I go back to them each time. But review sites are a constantly evolving business, so I always try to find one or two new ones to solicit.

My checklist is pretty well in order for the upcoming release. My guest posts are written, my Advance Review Copies (ARCs) are out there now, being devoured (hopefully) by my reviewers, my website is being updated, I've started putting out announcements on Facebook about A Widow's Salvation now being available for pre-orders. I'm still contemplating doing some advertising specific to readers of historical fiction, so there's work yet to do. But especially when money is involved, I prefer to take my time.

In between doing all this, I can start to obsess over my numbers on Amazon. And work on Book 9, The Forgotten Debutante. A writer's work is never done, regardless of where you're at in the journey or how high you are in the charts.

So I'll keep my nose to the grindstone and see what happens this go-round. Happy Release Day!