So I let blogging slide for a while. I have a list of excuses but taking even fifteen minutes to write up a quick update could have been possible and the truth of the matter is that I got discouraged. It's hard to get up the motivation to keep writing and pursuing publication when you receive numerous rejections and none of your friends have remembered to read it.
I've been thinking a lot lately about my level of talent. I think I am a decent writer in a general sense, but I have come to terms with the fact that there are so many authors out there whose prose outshines me. All the rejections I have received have been pretty formulaic, claiming that they didn't connect with my characters so they didn't connect with my story. Therefore, I don't think I will get out of the slush pile and get an agent to be interested. My writing doesn't jump off the page as being the next big thing.
But I still believe that this is the best work I've ever produced so I have decided to throw it up on Amazon and a few other ebook sites so that people can read it. My goal at the end of the day is for people to enjoy my stories so if this is how I need to propagate it, then that's what I'm going to do.
A friend of mine is a great artist. Her artwork is quite distinctive and I really want her to design my cover. She's been reading a bit of my book and getting a feel for what it's all about so I'm excited to see how this progresses. One of the major pros of self publishing is that I can decide exactly what I want for the cover.
At this point I don't know exactly how much advertising I will do. I know that with self publishing the marketing comes directly down to you, but I'm OK with this being a casual thing. I'll probably throw a link to it on my facebook and instragram accounts and leave it at that for the moment. With work and field hockey commitments I don't have much time to do anything else because any time I do get I want to enjoy with my friends and family in the hot sun.
That being said, I have started on the second book. I am probably a quarter of the way through but don't get too impressed because I did technically start dabbling at it in March so it's been a work in progress for a while. I have a fairly clear idea of how I want this second installment to progress - from the small events leading up to the finale so it's all about getting it down on paper (or screen in this case) in the most engaging way possible.
As we get closer to finishing the cover I might throw up the first chapter on this blog so that if you are interested in it, you can have a quick look at my writing style and gauge whether it's for you.
