Gosh, where does time go?
Life is busy. It is for everyone. What I have I been up to?
Enjoying my family. Spending time with friends. Reading non-fiction while struggling to find novels that keep my interest. (It’s me, not the books!) Planning for an upcoming high school graduation. (Eek!) Re-evaluating my career.
I guess the last one is most prevalent to this blog. I think it’s important every so often to revisit the direction our writing takes. Revisit our goals. I’m still in the process of doing that. I will say that a lot of “stuff” triggered this period of re-evaluation, and I won’t share most of it. The one aspect I will share with you is that I grew tired of the rat race. If you write and self publish you might know what I mean. The keeping-up with the new marketing strategies before they’re no longer effective, the continual push and realization that the best way to make a profit is to write popular genres and put out a gazillion books a year.
I found myself putting my most exciting ideas on the back burner either because they were middle grade or outside of my established genre or would require more time. I didn’t want to write ten books a year. I completely understand that to keep books visible it helps to release books continuously, in the same genre, in a series, over and over and over.
That’s not why I started writing.
That’s not why I love writing.
But…I do want to make a profit. I run a small business. So I’m figuring out what that will look like for me. I’m striving to find a balance between writing what I love and what will sell.
(It also grew discouraging to see the top 100 on Amazon filled with Amazon imprints and KU books. Some in categories they clearly should not be in. Amazon is a business, so I don’t fault them for pushing their own books.)
I decided to write two more books in my original series, Circle of Spies. I follow the main characters but years later. The cover reveal is below.
And a favor, if some strange pharma links show up at the bottom of this post, please email or tweet me and let me know. I can’t see them, and I can’t get ads while they’re still on my blog. Thank you!!!!
Let me know how you’ve been doing in the comments!
Hey Laura! I know what you mean. I’ve not written anything in a long time and have focused on the IWSG instead. I just can’t produce that fast nor do I want to spend my whole time marketing. Glad to see you’ve got new books on the way though.
I didn’t write nearly as much this year as I normally do. I know myself and I can’t keep up that kind of pace for the next 10 years. I have to figure out the right balance for me. But, as usual, there were a lot of personal factors in play too that I didn’t share. 🙂
Good to hear what you’re up to these days, Laura. Congrats on your new book. What a great idea. I feel pretty much the same way you do as far as the publishing industry. I can’t write that fast, so ten books a year for me isn’t possible. Not at this point in my life. I’m no longer care giver for two of my grandchildren. I have five grandkids now! Loving being Grammy, but those two grandkids moved to North Carolina and I’m in California. I miss them and their mommy terribly. And their daddy, too. 🙂 These days my main focus is getting my hubby well. He had lung surgery end of October 2016 and it was then that the cancer was confirmed. Though it was a small tumor, it was attached to the chest well and spread to three lymph nodes. Took him to the ER on Thanksgiving, suspecting a blood clot in his leg. His calf was a bit swollen. It was a deep vein thrombosis, and turns out it went from his calf all the way to his femoral artery (by the groin). Some of it broke off and went to his lungs (pulmonary embolism). Caused his heart to work harder and it was only working at about 35%. Then he saw an oncologist, who ordered an MRI of the brain. Lung cancer likes to spread to the brain. They found two small lesions. He had GAMMA Knife radiation (amazing procedure) but they discovered 7 smaller lesions in the lining of his brain, so he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer, leptomeningeal cancer. The good news is he’s not having any symptoms. I’ve asked people from all over the world to pray for him. I believe the prayers are being answered. Chemo has been rough on him, but he’s a trooper and so very brave.
I became a certified health coach, but I can’t start my business until George is well. I still believe in miracles. So I’m staying busy doing crafts “art therapy” and adding precious memories to my YouTube channel. It’s actually a lot of fun and good therapy, too, to keep me busy and stay positive.
I’ve neglected my blog terribly, but I want to get back to it and write about this strange journey we’ve been on. Now, look at the length of this comment. Ha, I could turn it into a blog post! Thanks for the updates, Laura. It’s always good to hear what writer friends from back in 2011 when I started blogging are up to these days. Just think of all the changes we’ve witnessed in the publishing industry during that time. Mind boggling, huh?
You’re so right. So much has changed. I’m so thankful to continue to publish my own work. 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear about your husband. I pray he heals up fast! Life events like that tend to put everything else in perspective. Hugs. Faith, family, and friends are most important.