It’s been a while since I did an Indie
Life post, but I figured that since I haven’t updated in a week, this would
be a good opportunity to catch up.
What
is Indie Life?
Hosted
by the
Indelibles and modelled after Alex Cavanaugh's awesome Insecure
Writer's Group, this is a chance for indie authors to post about indie
life, find each other, offer support, encouragement, news, helpful hints, and
anything else that makes life as an indie author a little easier.
The
Writing Life - Akin to an Accident Scene
The life of an indie writer sometimes feels like being
at an accident scene, the chaos, the crowd, the disorder and at the centre of
it all, someone who ends up being a patient. In the writer’s life, the patient
is usually a book that needs treatment to bring it to a balanced and healthy state.
If we have other books to promote as we edit, that’s
where the chaos sometimes comes in. If you’re like me and don’t schedule
tweets, then things can get a little spotty. Triberr
has been a godsend, but I can still be better organized in how I do my tweeting
for myself and others.
The twitterverse and all the other social media
sites bring the crowds. We’re all trying to promote something and our
conversational exchanges can get lost as tweets zing to and fro. I’ve learned
repeatedly that not promoting comes at a price. My inactivity over the last couple
of months has resulted in my sales tanking, but that’s par for the course and part
of what the Indie writer must accept as the price for not being on the ball or
for juggling a lot of balls.
For the next few weeks I’ll be wrapped up in the non-fiction
side of things—writing and editing magazine articles, but I’ll also be working
on my next patient. An aside here—getting back to this book was almost an
orgasmic experience. The joy of doing what I love is wonderful and the end result will be a patient given a new lease on life.
I’m also in the process of updating my books on Smashwords so they comply with their
Meatgrinder. I’ve neglected that end of things, but was reminded that I needed
to get cracking because I actually made some cash at Smashwords. More importantly, for the
moment, it’s the only way an islander can get their books on Barnes and Noble. We gotta do what we
gotta do, right?
What stops have you been making on the Indie road
lately? What lessons have you learned? Visit other Indie writers by clicking here.
