Publishing

Book Progress

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

This is a short update on my writing progress – it has been a while since my last post about my novels.  Currently, I am working on final revisions for two novels.  I have decided to work on the third novel which is semi-organized in paper and thoughts, and will postpone publishing for now.  There are a few reasons for this, and I rather wait until I straighten some issues.  In addition, my uncertainty about looking for an agent and going indie has cleared up.  I find that the wait helped me understand indie publishing  a bit better, and although not my intention at the beginning (I was thinking about going the traditional route), now I feel that the right path for me is indie publishing.  This path seems to agree much more with my personality, work ethics, and working style.

One thing worries me; there seems to be a self-publishing frenzy going on now, and tons of poor quality work out in print.  In addition, there is the conflict with pricing issues between Amazon and publishing houses, authors and publishing houses, and everyone and their neighbors … It is obvious that this frenzy will subside eventually, and hopefully, the writers looking for a quick buck will dwindle as well, and just as with an ice age, that the writing environment clears up.  These things concern me now and weigh heavy on my decision to self-publish.  Added to issues of a pending move out-of-state, financial, and lifestyle changes, the best path is to wait and keep writing the third novel.

A friend told me that I was risking missing the boat by waiting but I disagree.  I don’t think anybody’s boat goes missing just because one decides to wait until the time that it feels right (and that is a personal issue and different for everyone).  However, I happen to agree with chasing opportunity when it knocks and if you feel ready for the chase.  Many times, “just jump now” works; other times, you may find that the abyss could have been avoided if you just waited until your foot was touching ground.

How do you feel about the self-publishing frenzy going on now or about self-publishing in general?  Feel free to share your experience in the comment section.

Working Through Transition Stinks!

/ inkspeare
Rural area outside of Paeroa, New Zealand

Image via Wikipedia

I have started my second novel.  It is hard to work and plan your work when you are in the midst of change.  I will be moving to another state in the next few months – or at least, those are the plans – and I feel disconnected in some areas; one of them work.  My husband and I are moving south, to a simpler lifestyle, and to a rural area, where I will have to slow down to the pace of slow internet, among many other things.

Once we arrive, our efforts will be on restoring (just the two of us) an old farmhouse that will be our home.  That will take all our time.  Most likely, I will be offline for sometime, and will blog very sporadically.  We will hope for a wi-fi signal, mostly in the evening, as we will be staying with my sister and brother-in-law, for a short time.  We will change our pace and lifestyle totally – this is a big change we are in for, one that will require a lot of focus and effort, as well as patience.

This upcoming change has tied my hands a bit with my writing.  I have several projects that I cannot evolve due to this, and in a way, I am in some kind of limbo now, and very limited as to the work projects that I can take on.  This has left me feeling stuck for a while; however, it is making room for finishing my second novel.  It gives me some time to plan, but I cannot start much now.  This is as working against my grain, since I am one to dislike sitting for long with projects or decisions.  According to my personality type, working like this truly sucks – it stinks.

My writing has come to a halt in certain aspects.  Not due to lack of work, but to the limits to advancing my writing career, as during that time, I will not be able to commit to long-term or big projects, or maybe any writing projects at all.  Now, I cannot commit to long-term projects that will require my availability during that time.  So this is my dilemma.  For now, I can only dedicate this transition time to some short-term projects and to  finishing my second novel, maybe start my third one.  If anything, once I am in a position of stability again, I will have two, maybe three, ready to publish novels, and I will be able to resume my long-term writing projects.  It drives me nuts to not be able to go all the way with something, to feel restrained.

Have you gone thru a big change or transition? Please, feel free to share any coping tips and techniques that relate to handling your work during transition.