Okay, so this post is to announce my new membership to a very appropriately named writing group. At least, for me, anyway. Thank you for including me, Alex! You should go check it out http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com I'm excited to be a new member and with the results of my first mini-blog tour I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling just a tad...insecure. Honestly, my first knee-jerk reaction was that I was a huge, complete and total failure. Once I took a minute, or maybe more like seventy-two hours, I realized that I needed to re-asses my paradigm of success vs. failure. Was I really a failure? I'd written a book while working a full-time job and raising a family. I took my private idea and secret, burning, desire and shared it with the whole wide world. Was that really being a failure? All right, so I wasn't selling copy after downloaded copy and my status bar on Amazon wasn't changing often, but do those statistics equate to failure? Once I got out of my own way and took serious stock of my situation, I realized I wasn't a failure. I made some excellent contacts with many bloggers who now know who I am, and are interested in developing a working relationship with me for future books. Really? I did? Sounds pretty successful to me.
I know I still have much to learn, ahem...make that... a lot to learn, but I'm headed in the right direction and feeling insecure is all part of the process. It's the journey that's important and the lessons you learn along the way even more important, not just the destination. Although, I can see my destination, a little more clearly now, far away on the horizon, but it's there...waiting for me to continue on my journey.
Bravo! The right perspective is everything. Congratulations on all your achievements.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Feather Stone!
DeleteI'd say you're rockin' and rollin', my friend. Getting something up on Amazon is nothing to sneeze at. That's amazing. So, go you! And, welcome to the IWSG. Great to have you!!
ReplyDeleteElsie
co-host IWSG
Thanks for having me, Elsie. It's great to be a member.
DeleteI think you're right on schedule. Keep plugging away and you'll do it. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette
I certainly hope so, Anna! Thanks for the encouragement!
DeleteYou put a book out into the world - that is a major accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteAnd even if the launch and tour didn't seem like a success, you don't know how far the reach or what it might lead to, including more sales.
And welcome to the IWSG!
Thanks so much Alex! I'm excited to be a member of IWSG.
DeleteWe are definitely connected! Same scenario:) I wish I had a little more insight when I first published this past year. (Small publishing house with a kind-hearted publisher:) I even belong to a large critique group. But there are certain things that I failed to ask, because I didn't know the questions! Oh well:) Still writing and hopefully not making same mistakes. But measure those small successes and smile about them! Glad to meet you. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteGlad to meet you, too, Jennifer. Thanks for visiting as well.
DeleteMy biggest recommendation is to focus on your message and your story. I haven't sold a gazillion copies of my book though I'm getting close to selling 100 copies. It's taken connecting with a ton of new people, it took the luck of participating in the Puerto Rico Comic Con and it took many more things. Some stats: the book took me 7 years to write plus a full year to transcribe and edit, it's been out over a year, some people I know are still unaware I published a book.
ReplyDeleteWith this I just want to let you know that hard work and insecurity for a writer can easily go hand in hand... you just have to be stubborn and focus on your race. I may have had lapses of insecurity... still, my stubbornness and desire to write are capable of more than my insecurity. So by all means, write on and on and on... it is the best choice. :)
Cheers,
JD
Thank you, JD, for sharing your story with me and posting on my blog. Your message is very encouraging. I'm completely out of my comfort zone, yet I feel a blazing desire that propels me. My choice is to learn as much as I can and continue to write despite my fear and insecurity. I wish you much success!
ReplyDelete