An Author Regroups

by Jeannie Ruesch

I read a post called “An Author Regroups” by Rosanna Leo, drawn in by the title because it’s a place I recognize well.   And because I know she’s not the only one, I’m not the only one, I wanted to share it with any writers out there who might be reading my blog. It offers a message I think we can all relate to — how to find your way past the underscore of uncertainty that breathes just below the surface.

Here is from her page:

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time. Not to air my dirty laundry, but because I’m a believer in the philosophy “in with the good, out with the bad.” Although I consider myself a positive person, I feel it’s important to acknowledge the bad stuff, get it out there, and move on. So this is me, getting it out there in the hopes of leaving it behind.

2015 was a disappointment for me, in terms of writing success and parts of my personal life. There. I’ve acknowledged it.

Surprised? After all, I had four releases in 2015. Count ’em. Four novels.

It was also a year in which my sales dropped considerably. When I do the math, it’s not encouraging. Of those four books, I was convinced three of them would have done well. These were books that spoke to my heart, perhaps more than others have done. They meant something to me.

It’s disappointing to check out my royalties and see a sale here, a sale there. Don’t get me wrong. I thank God and my readers for every one of those sales. I know money is tight, for everyone. I’m humbled knowing my faithful readers care enough about my work to spend money on it.

As we enter a new year, I haven’t felt all that positive. Because  we had a death in the family last year, I found it hard to write new stories and the ones I came up with did not speak to me. I floundered for a while. I cut myself some slack under the circumstances. Who could write under duress anyway? Not me, it seems.

I’ve been tickled to see some of my writer pals achieve some sort of bestseller status in recent months. Truly, how awesome is that? As much as I’ve been thrilled for them, the practical person in my head asks, “If this doesn’t happen for you, what’s next? Do you keep writing?”

It’s disappointing to check out my royalties and see a sale here, a sale there. Don’t get me wrong. I thank God and my readers for every one of those sales. I know money is tight, for everyone. I’m humbled knowing my faithful readers care enough about my work to spend money on it.

But authors, successful ones, need lots of sales, right? How do we write without them?

And yet, in a year in which my backlist increased by leaps and bounds, in a year in which my social networks grew, in a year in which I released my first print book ever, my sales dropped.

And yet, in a year in which my backlist increased by leaps and bounds, in a year in which my social networks grew, in a year in which I released my first print book ever, my sales dropped.

I won’t lie. It stings.

And now I find myself on another Monday morning, a writing day, in my robe and slippers. My coffee is at hand. My laptop is fired up before me. Do I continue writing or do I find something else to do?

I’ve decided to keep writing. Why? Well, I never got into this business to become a bestseller. I’m honored to be published. Sure, if massive sales come, I won’t turn them away but I can’t make them the focus of my endeavors.

I need to throw aside my bruised ego and remember it’s about the stories. I need to trust that it’s all unfolding as it should. There are lessons to be learned here, chief among those being humility and grace. Those four releases from last year? I’m extremely proud of them. I know people will find them eventually and I know I have other great books inside me, just waiting to find a home on your bookshelves.

It’s time to put out the bad and trust in myself once again. It’s time to regroup and get back to business.

Good books don’t write themselves.

An author regroups. | Rosanna Leo

 

We all have those years, those days, those moments when it’s just not there.  I know exactly how that feels, since I’ve had a few of those days all wrapped into this 30-day things called months that have added up to almost requiring two hands to count them.

Yes, that’s my long winded way of saying I have struggled with my writing the last few months.  Cordelia’s story is proving harder to tap into than I thought, and though I have about 60,000 words on the pages, I’m just not yet sure which of those 60K are right and which are wrong.  But I’m getting there.

I signed up for RWA today, happy to be doing something positive and writerly again.  And it gives me inspiration.  Tonight, I worked on my book in the first time in I-don’t-want-to-admit.  But that makes me beyond happy.  And fulfilled.  All those things that I feel when I do write.  When I do dive in. When I do find my way back.

It’s tough to put that out into the world, but I know I’m not the only one.  I also know that my love and passion for writing, my commitment to getting the stories out of my head and into my readers’ hands is just as strong as its ever been.  But this gives you a little insight into what a “not-so-great” day in a writer’s life at work looks like. Or month.  Or quarter.

But so far, 2016 is looking much better.

 

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1 comment

Rosanna Leo February 4, 2016 - 4:49 am

Thanks very much for the reblog, Jeannie. I wish you all the best in your writing journey and great success for 2016!

Reply

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