What I did after launch day…

Actually launch day, as eventful as it was leading up to it, I took a major breather.  I slept, I did family and friend things and most importantly did not ONCE look at my sales ticker.  I didn’t want to be overjoyed or depressed.  Understanding that I’m an Indie Author I realize there are things that go with that.  First….I don’t have a big name.  Second….I don’t have a big publishing house behind me.  What does this mean for me?  A lot more work, but ultimately the traditionally published author and I have one thing in common….our chances of success.  They don’t have a huge marketing team behind them either; it makes no sense but that’s the gosh darn truth unless they are a huge household name.  Of course I would choose Indie over the other because I like knowing what I’m getting into and not be let down by a house meant to protect me and show me off.

This is my second go-round and I am quite certain I’ve figured out plenty since the first.  If you have read my blog from the beginning or checked through the archives you will realize marketing/social media and I have had our time in the ring.  I’m stubborn and confused.  You can throw numbers around and TELL a person what works, but in actuality there is no algorithm on current human behavior so it’s a crap shoot.  Your determination plus lots of luck is what gets you places.  We’ll use Instagram and things of the like as an example.  The interaction/follows/likes don’t add up, especially on Instagram.  I can post the exact same thing on my author accounts as I do the private ones (really, Is Instagram really private though?) and a funny thing happened.  With the same exact picture, caption, and hashtags I get more interaction on the private one.  On there I have twice as many followers and I can honestly say it’s not because they’re all friends I’ve met in real life.  So what gives?  Logically speaking they should be identical but they’re not.  That is why I give up on trying to mathematically figure out what in the world is going on in people’s minds.  The best I can do is keep trying to figure things out.

I would LOVE to get the word out.  I would LOVE for people to enjoy my work and even be a bit more fantastic by leaving a review.  I’m obviously not in it for the money, I do it because I love it.  The biggest thing I would LOVE???? More interaction; I’m a people person not someone destined to be the only voice in the room.

SO BACK TO WHAT I DID ON LAUNCH DAY….by the end of the day I was in the company of two fabulous friends sitting around the table drinking pumpkin spice coffee (yes I’m one of THOSE) and enjoyed myself.  I think I’ll leave the stressing for another day don’t you think?  There’s only so much confusion I can handle.

Now to keep interacting with everyone and I’ll be right as rain.

Things are changing…..and that’s a good thing!

Image

photo courtesy of federico stevanin/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So here I am starting fresh and new. Spring has opened up the petals of my hibernating soul and soon I will blossom once again for the world to see. What does that mean exactly? It’s an answer that is beneficial to you, my readers and fans, and to me regarding inspiration and communication.

For you all I have decided that I am going to attempt to communicate more. This means those things I fear most, Twitter, Facebook, anything social media I will be more vocal on. So pull your boot straps up because this chick is going to start to talk. I’m really excited about my upcoming work and I am making a push for completion. I want to interact with all of you more on any level that I can. We thrive on the interaction of each other and nothing would make me happier than to be talking to you! I might be an introvert at heart but I love to socialize. I do see the irony in that. I like to socialize but I don’t know how to deal with social media much.

What’s going to happen with me is that I am going to show more of my process. The steps that I’m taking, I’m not going to hide away as a deep dark secret. Maybe that’s what has been holding me back. What I do know is that I am working hard to connect with the inspiration from the world and with the reality that it takes work to get things done and not just hope that it will settle itself. I want to blog more, I want to express my process, I want to share the human part of me while trying to push the too-humble persona out of the way and be a bit more hands on with everything involving my work. Everyone knows that I write because I love it and without it I don’t feel complete. The thing everyone DOESN’T know is that I also write for people, the fans, and without fans(you) I’m only doing a portion of what I love and cannot feel complete.

Finding the right balance between everything will be tricky, but I’m sure that it can be done with help all around. So I will be seeing you soon and you will no doubt be hearing more from and about me. Let’s embrace this spring change together and go for a very wonderful ride.

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