Last Tuesday, my seventh novel released:
Available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Audible, your local bookstore, and wherever books are sold!
One of the things I’ve learned since my first book came out 10 years ago is that release day isn’t my favorite. I thought it would be. What could possibly be better than finally having your book on store shelves and watching your Amazon sales ranking climb?
This was the goal all along, right? To have the book release into the world. That was why I did all the research, did the hard work of cutting those scenes that didn’t work, and worked on edits even in the waiting room while my dad had surgery. Because I cared about making Within These Lines a great reading experience. Because I knew it would someday be on shelves, and that someone (hopefully lots of someones) would spend money on it, and I wanted them to be glad they did.
For me, release day is a weird mix of fun, disappointment, vulnerability, delight, frustration, stress, joy, and exhaustion. There was a lot of great chatter about the book on Instagram and the other social channels, and I tried to interact with and respond to everyone. I sent out my newsletter, changed verbiage on my website to reflect that the book was now released, and spent 45 minutes taking an Instagram photo. (Nobody else was home. It was hard.)
I enjoy this part of the work more than I use to, and I well remember the early days in my career when I had about 2 Facebook followers. Back then, release days were a lot more of me shouting to nobody about the book, so I’m grateful that now it includes so much interaction with others.
But these are also the days on my writing journey where I take my focus off the race I’m running and glance around at the other authors. What’s their sales ranking like? How many copies of their book did B&N stock? Their social media campaign looks snappier and more sophisticated than the one I thought up…
When my writer friends release a book and a few low-star reviews inevitably trickle in, I’m quick to comfort them with wisdom like, “Not everybody is going to like the book. It’s normal to have some 1 and 2 star reviews. It just shows that the book is really getting out there, and that’s great news!” But when it’s my turn, I don’t take it that well. Even spotting a 3 star review can make my stomach turn a bit.
The weeks around a book release are always hectic. I have two scheduled book signings here in Kansas City, plus a couple of speaking events. I enjoy all of these things, especially when I’m as excited about a book as I am Within These Lines, but I’m also always glad when the hype begins to fade a bit.
Because what I really love— what rejuvenates me in my soul—is writing. I’m reminded of that every release season, that yes, this part is nice, but it’s not everything.
I started thinking about a scene I wrote in The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet, where Ellie is getting ready to write:
Just before clicking the button and opening Invisibly Yours, my finger hesitates. This is always the hardest part of the process for me–untangling Gabrielle from all the Ellieness of my day, dressing myself in the skin of a heroine.
Getting back to writing after a book release can be similar. I’m always highly distractable in the transition because I’ve grown accustomed to every ding of my phone meaning I was just tagged on Instagram and need to respond. That every new email might be something time-sensitive from the publicist.
Also, because I’ve been listening to so many voices sharing their opinions about my writing—everything from “you deserve a standing ovation for this piece of literature” to those who are like, “meh” and probably worse, I’m just not hunting it down—it’s hard to remember that those voices don’t matter right now. That they don’t get a say in what I’m creating next.
While Ellie struggles to elevate herself to a place of being worthy to write, after a book release, I’m always having to shake off my over-inflated ego. “Your ego is a wonderful servant, but it’s a terrible master,” Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic. “Because the only thing your ego ever wants is reward, reward, and more reward.” There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being rewarded for hard work, but eventually you have to get back to work.
What’s one thing you did in the last week to prioritize your writing? I’ll share first: I ordered in library books for researching what I think is going to be my next book. What about you?
Congrats on your release! 🙂
And thank you so much for sharing your experience. Being vulnerable and not letting feedback freeze me up is something I fight with. This post encouraged me to keep working hard at these areas. Best to grow as much as possible now in the smaller scale of things.
For prioritizing, I blocked off all Saturday to finish my weekly chapter for my critique group.
Good for you, Samantha! Critique group deadlines are such a great discipline.
First of all, congratulations, Stephanie!
Something I did in the last week to prioritize writing was writing on paper for a little bit. Then I don’t get distracted by my computer or phone.
That is SO smart. Sometimes pulling out pen and paper is the best thing for me too.
I haven’t bought and read Within These Lines yet, but I’m hoping I’ll get my hands on it soon.
It’s funny that you would quote Ellie today, I was just thinking about her earlier and how much I love her books. They were some of my favorite books (and probably still are!) when I was a teenager writing my own novels. <3 (When I was younger I was in charge of taking care of the chickens, and I even named one Ellie in honor of her. XD)
Oh my gosh, I’m so tickled by a chicken named after Ellie 🙂 And I’m glad those books were touching to you. They felt very personal to write and have been a couple of the hardest to release (just from a “this makes me feel so vulnerable!” standpoint) so it’s always nice when I hear they were appreciated by someone.
Congrats! I paid siblings to do my chores yesterday so I could edit ^-^
As a mother, this brings me extra delight. I would be thrilled if one of my kids did that because he or she was taking her dream seriously. Good for you, Eliza!
It’s so fun getting a sneak peek into what releasing a novel looks like for you. The stress makes sense though ;0 How have I recently prioritized my writing? By entering it into a huge contest. It’ll be months before I hear … so meanwhile I’m still writing every day ;D
Good for you, Keturah! That takes bravery!
Congratulations on your book! I am very curious about it, so hopefully I will be able to read it soon.
Last week, we had a spring break, so all the kids were at home. I decided to write on my phone while I was making dinner. OneNote is such a fantastic tool for that! And in all those minutes here and there, I almost finished my scene outline. 3 months ahead of my very loose planning.
Marja, that’s fantastic! I’m super impressed. My kids are out on spring break this week, and it’s VERY hard to find writing time.
For prioritizing, I turned off my Twitter so I could work on chapter editing. 🙂
That’s VERY smart.
To prioritize writing, I started keeping a daily count of words written so I have a better idea of how much I’m getting accomplished.
Congrats on your release!
I do that too! I have found it to be such a small, helpful way to motivate myself!