“That” Author

06 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Brain Droppings, My Stuff, Social Media, The Craft, The Process, The Writing Biz Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here we are, two days past the official release of my first solo novel, The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles), and I’m trying not to be “THAT” author.  You know, the author who scours the internet for any mention of his or her name, book title, Facebook posts, Tweets, blog posts, Pinterest pins, Instagram pictures…anything.

Nope, not trying to go there. Even though I took a peek at my royalty statements to see what kind of activity my book is doing. And Googled myself (there are a LOT of people with my name…including a woman in San Francisco, where I used to live, who is also a cook, as I used to be. At least we look nothing alike !). All of which I’d told myself not to do, for the sake of my sanity.

I had to breathe, stop, and write this blog before I lost myself in tater tots and back episodes of NCIS, before Graceland comes on .

It’s not the writing that will drive you insane, though it is a close second. What drives a writer insane is the afterbirth, if you will, of the book being published. The postpartum depression, for most of us, that sets in when our books aren’t flying off the shelves like those of our favorite bestselling authors…most of whom have been writing books for many, many moons and are at the point in their careers where they can phone it in, if they choose (and some have done it. *Sigh*).  The realization that you can get the word out there via every social media venue known to man, but that’s about all you can do. You can spread the word to every warehouse, outhouse, doghouse, foxhouse and henhouse (to paraphrase US Marshall Gerard in the movie The Fugitive), but short of forcing people to click the “Buy Now” button, you can’t make people buy your work. Even if you think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, your opinion no longer matters. What mattes now is the court of public opinion, which is fickle on a good day.

Not to mention any reviews given. The positive ones are always great to get,but what about the not-so-positive ones? The ones that pretty much feed that voice in your soul that you managed to still, the one that whispered, “see, I told you this wasn’t going to work.” The internet makes it easy for people to spew invective behind aliases; e-gangsterism is the new black. It doesn’t matter if it’s a reader who just couldn’t connect with your work, or someone you slighted who sees this as a means of revenge, or someone who just wants to see you fail, for whatever reason.

Trying to keep up with all of this, AND continue writing, will make you lose it. So try not to do it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, time for tater tots. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Could It All Be So Simple…

23 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Brain Droppings, Marketing and PR, My Stuff, The Craft, The Process, The Writing Biz Tags: , , , , , ,

I spent yesterday making changes to the print copy proof of The Camille Chronicles. Then I did a bit of writing, and set up some merchant accounts, and lined things up for the pre-release next week. Then I watched back episodes of NCIS (the Ziva days!).

That was it. And it felt strange.

Perhaps it’s a holdover from my days in Corporate America. Perhaps it’s our societal culture that mandates that doing is more important than not doing, even if you’re not doing anything significant. The confluence of both influences leads to a feeling of guilt when I take time to rest, or do something fun…something not work-related.

The strange feeling also comes from the fact that my “work” is now writing (it took me fourteen years to get to this point, so I’ve got a lot of personal deprogramming to do LOL). And while creating the book is key (you can’t really be an author if you don’t write anything), writing is also a business–at least, it is if you want to last as an author, and make money from your craft in the process. So since I’m starting out as a self-published author and don’t yet have anyone do to the grunt work for me, it’s left for me to do pesky things like setting up merchant accounts, maintaining social media sites, marketing, and anything else that positions my current and future books for maximum positive reception from the public. It’s things like those that remind me that the publishing and media business is, indeed, a business, and I must treat it accordingly. No creative person, in whatever media, can afford to play the dillettante artist and only focus on the craft. Even if you sell and distribute work through more traditional channels, you still have to look out for your best interests because you can’t depend on those around you to do it for you. Yes, this includes those whom you hire to do just that.

I say all this to say that, work doesn’t have to be a struggle. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle. Too often, we make it so because we think we have to (I am guilty of this). So much that when we enter an easier way of life, it feels strange. Life is too short for the madness, and madness takes its toll–make sure you have correct change. 😉

As the character Lydia Grant once said in the movie (and eventual TV show) Fame: “You want fame? Then fame costs. And right here is where you start paying…in sweat.”

 

Sweat is an essential part of building anything from scratch, but there is something to be said for working smarter, not harder.

Thanks for stopping by.