The time right before a book’s release for an indie author
is what some may call hectic. Others, particularly those of us going through
it, may say it’s more like “head-spinning-eye-bugging-hair-pulling-never-going-to-get-this-done-in-time-who-needs-sleep”
insanity.
There are the usual promotions of the upcoming release,
getting ready to launch a blog tour, tweeting and Facebooking about how we are
so excited that the book is about to come out, while behind the scenes, we’re
scrambling in the final weeks and days with cover fixes, edits, blurb tweaks,
last-second proof fixes, formatting, uploading files, fixing files because of a
technical glitch, etc. It’s a mad dash for the finish line!
I don’t know about others, but I dream of lazy days after
crossing that finish line. Sitting around reading and catching up on TV shows
and movies, chatting online and in real-life with people you haven’t talked to
in months. Sure, there are still blog posts to write and interview questions to
answer, but the demands are nothing compared to the marathon-length sprint
before release day. Easy-peasy.
When I released Power
exactly a month ago, that finish line was even dreamier because within two
weeks of the release, I also sent two kids off to college and closed a big deal
with my other business that resulted in adding new team members who needed to
be trained. My summer had disappeared in the chaos and I couldn’t wait for the
6 weeks of “after-life” with a workload that would be so light, I’d practically
feel like I was on vacation.
Yeah, right. Four of those weeks have already passed, and
although I haven’t been working nearly as hard as before, I’m already feeling
overwhelmed. There’s always something to do in an indie author’s life. The
print version of Power is still being
tweaked and proofed and hopefully will be ready soon. The audiobook of Promise is being reviewed and getting
ready to go on sale. New swag with the new offerings needs to be made. And then
there’s the blog tour with guest posts and interviews.
We won’t even mention the messy state of my office or the
rest of the house, the doctors and dentist appointments that need to be made or
the remodeling project. This “after-life” is supposed to be made for dealing
with these things, as well as for refilling the creative well. So far, I’ve
accomplished less than half of what I wanted to, and already the itch to start
writing again is growing. Which is good, because I need to start on the next
book soon.
Such is the life of an indie author. It’s a never-ending
ride. But would any of us trade it for another? I don’t think so.
~Kristie Cook
It's a crazy ride for sure but I definitely wouldn't trade it either! :)
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