Trying to avoid potholes

Believe me or not, there are three – looking back now - of the busiest months behind me. Everything collided on my head and – again, believe me or not – it was all my own doing.

I had it planned – most of it. And it was planned perfect, but then… Life doesn’t always play by the rules, right? I should have been used to it, yet I have fallen again, sometimes I can be so naïve. Not seeing all the potholes...

 

By now you already know I planned the publication date for my third novel way ahead. I marked 1^st May 2018 to be it. I scheduled almost everything, so that the publication date would go smoothly, with as much as possible notice to you readers ahead. Open pre-order possibility a month prior the publication date, so that the word would be out and around.

And after I made all the plans for the publication I managed to screw things up almost completely.  Instead of marking the publication date for 1^st May, 2018, I marked it for 1^st April 2018. When I tried to correct it, I got a ‘friendly’ notice from Amazon, that if I do that, I was about to lose the right for the pre-order for a year. I was, mildly saying – shocked.

With all my apologies to the Pict Publishing ladies, which already scheduled everything, I was advised to approach Amazon directly and explain them my honest mistake.

Due to almost every answer I got from Amazon was negative, I didn’t have my hopes high. But nevertheless, I wrote them a letter and surprisingly, got a very quick reply, letting me know that they understand the mistake I’ve made, however…

… they said that I need to correct the publication date myself and only after this will be done, they are going to be able to give the right for the pre-order status back to me.

PHEW!

I couldn’t believe it.

But they did as they said. I corrected the day, and the day after that, my novel was on pre-order!

So, April came. I worked my last day for the former company and started a new job a week later…

Boy was I in for a surprise…

Juggling too many balls

Being a writer, an author I never thought you would be wanting to read about my personal life. I am not even sure on how much I have already shared with you, but I don't think it is that much.

However, the beginning of this year I found myself again at the crossover. I needed a change and I needed it fast. For the past eleven plus years, I worked for a steel industry company focused on export and for the past seven years my role was Senior Buyer. I loved doing what I did. I had daily contacts with half of Europe if not quite with half of the world.

We went through different kinds of times. Good and bad for business, yet we survived and strived.  I was proud. Still am. But I started to become… restless. I think that is the best word to describe how I felt for the past few months.

Slowly everything started to get on my nerves. Don’t get me wrong, I was still doing my job as it needed to be done and better. I was raised that way.

Then it happened.

In scheduled the publication of my third novel – At the End of the Summer. You’ve heard a lot about it this past few months. Then I joined Pict Publishing. 

And then… I was offered a new job. In a new company. In a new city.

Two weeks after, at the beginning of March, I handed in my four weeks’ notice and continued working till the end, at the beginning of April, like I had not resigned.

They were an interesting five weeks. Intense. For a few weeks some of my colleagues didn’t believe what I had done. However slowly the realisation hit them. It also hit me. 

While I worked in the office like nothing happened… my ‘other’ professional life almost crashed and sunk…

5 STAR review for At the End of the Summer

We have lovely - summerish - days at the moment. The sun is shining, the temperatures are around 25°C, the weekend is still in progress... What's there not to like, right?

So this morning, when I woke up and made myself (and OH) a mug of coffee, I sat down and looked at... yes, you have guessed it, my email.

In between all sorts of emails, I found a notification. My name was mentioned on Facebook. So I looked and... TA-DAH! 

There it was!

My FIRST 5 STAR review for my forthcoming new novel At the End of the Summer, currently on preorder for a special price of 99p/99c on Amazon - you can click the link.

You don't need to be Sherlock, to deduct that I LOVE it! 

Grab your copy before price goes up! 

Procrastination... The End?

For the past few months I was – let’s be honest here – procrastinating. A lot. And it is/was completely my fault. I barely managed to get myself to sit down and write something. Even blog posts were scarce and I needed someone – fictional – to breathe down my neck to write any. I was avoiding my computer, actually my new lap top like the plague.

You’re probably wondering how this happened?

At the end of the last year I had already written more than 30.000 words of my new novel. Somehow, I knew it was… crap. Too boring.

So, what did I do? I asked my good friend to ask some of her reading friends to read it. They didn’t know who I was, I didn’t – still don’t – know who they were in order to be completely honest in their feed-back.

Guess what? I was right. It was crap. I wondered how this could have happened.

I had such an amazing idea in my head. When it hit me, I got goose-bumps. I remember exactly how and when it hit me. I was in my car, driving home from work, listening to some music… I was so excited. But there was another story to be edited, polished and got ready for publication.

And before I managed to sit down and write the idea… it looks like it got watered-down.

Reading all the feed-backs, over and over again – although all professional and not putting me down as a writer – that nasty little “I’m not good enough” bug started to hunt me down.

At first it was a distinctive little voice, but as time passed by, it grew louder and louder and soon I wasn’t writing anything anymore and I used my laptop only for socializing.

Right at the same time my professional life became a mess. I had so much work at the office I stayed there longer and longer, trying to sort things out down, so I made that as my perfect excuse, why I am not writing. At all.

But now, I need to face myself in the mirror and tell myself I was procrastinating. A lot. The thing is, I work fine under pressure. If I’m given a deadline.

Perhaps writing as an Indie writer gives me too much freedom as to when I will write and how much and this kills my motivation. Perhaps having my day-job gives me too much safety… Perhaps my personal life is too busy to be able to…

But you know what? I know now that this are just excuses. And lame ones too.

A few days ago, I had to write a guest blog post for a friend and she gave me a deadline… I felt great after writing it down. I almost forgot that feeling…

So, this is how it is going to work. I will set myself goals, deadlines.  

To get my writing spirit back, I’m going to focus to write (and bore you with) at least two blog posts per week and after that…

I just know my writing beast will get unleashed and… well… let us all be surprised.