Seriously!

And it’s not like I’m not trying. It just ain’t happening. Yet.

I always have a long (mental) to do list of what I should try/learn/do.

Recently I accomplished:

Newsletter sign-up form for my website. It wasn’t too hard, but took some research and figuring out because I can never seem to get something right off the bat the first time.

Went to a writer’s workshop-all day. That involved finding the place–always a challenge for me to find a new place in Scottsdale. And meeting entirely new people–which I did, and wondering if I would end up eating lunch alone–which I didn’t.

Reset the theme of my blog/website.

What else I think I should/need/can do:

Add buttons to website where my book can be purchased on different websites where it is available.

Work on deep edits to Another Place…

Decide whether to query an agent, which case I have to:

Research agents specific to my genre

Formulate perfect query letters specifically to the requirement of each agent which includes a synopsis of a certain amount of pages (varies), a few hook paragraphs to get the agent to believe this is the best thing to cross their desk all year, a bio (which I need to redo) and a few other things.

OR should I keep going indie?

Decide about book covers (again) in case that’s why I’m not getting sales (who knows?)

Keep working on Potholes, my newest novel.

Begin revising/rewriting Places Bright and Dark (Lilyland 2)

Begin writing Lilyland 3.

Find a way to get involved with several author or writer/author communities I joined.

Decide the most effective way to spend the little budget I’m allotting to promotion.

And a lot of other things.

Someone recently commented that I live in a fantasy world. If I believed that, I wouldn’t have to work so hard. I live in a business world where I am trying to sell a carefully and lovingly crafted product that is but one in a vast ocean of like products in an industry that is in flux and confused. I’m not a business person by nature. But along with all the technology that goes into indie publishing, I have to learn business, too.

But I have to believe in myself, my skill, my stories. I have to keep improving at everything. It’s easy to get discouraged when I don’t see books selling and when I’m not making any money. When all I can be seen doing is wearing out the keyboard of my laptop.

But I’ve spent years at jobs that ended unhappily. This is the hard work I’d rather be doing.