See that lady? That's what I feel like doing right about now. When I decided I was going to write a novel I had this image in my head of a book that is so good it sells itself and makes me a household name. Nieve much?
The novel writing--not so hard. I like to write. It's work, but it doesn't feel like work. I am, in fact, nearly finished. I still need to edit, but I am ok with that. Everything else--a little harder than I thought.
First, as an author you are responsible for a huge chunk of your own marketing. To get published you need to have a marketing plan. I have great ideas. Now I need to figure out how to make those ideas happen.
Idea #1: My author friends (who shall remain nameless) said, "You need a website! Start a website and get followers!" I approached this with enthusiasm. I thought, Yay! A website! I can totally do that! Followers? Yeah, I can get some of those. Ha! Easier said than done my friends.
So I started this website not having any idea what I was doing (by the way, I will be cross-posting this entry to that website). That in itself was a real adventure for me. I am tech-challenged, and that's putting it mildly. But I did it. I have also somehow convinced 21 people to follow me. I LOVE ALL OF YOU! No, really--I do. I need followers and you lovely people heard my desperate plea and responded with kindness. I am grateful for that.
Despite those 21 people, there are tons of other people who aren't following. I don't know how to get them to follow. I don't know how to market the website. I don't know how to entice people to click the damn button on the right hand of the screen that says "follow." I don't know how to build an internet presence. Apparently these are all things I need to know. So now I am trying to learn them, all of them, quickly and with great skill. And I feel like pulling my hair out.
I dropped all of my courses--all of them--to do this. Crazy much? Maybe. For me, this is the height of insanity. But I did it. A successful author aquaintance of mine told me over coffee, "Look Jenn, if you want to do this then just do it. Don't talk about doing it, don't plan how to do it, just do it. Jump in head-first and give it all you've got. It will be frustrating. It will drive you nuts. But you're good, damn it. You're good. So just do it." So I did it.
And here I am, with a website and a dream and a nearly complete novel. And I want to pull my hair out. I have officially hit the frustrating part of this journey. I am battening down the hatches, digging my heels in, and doing this thing. Frustration City here I come! But I am not giving up. I will get more followers. This website will be worth the money I invested to get it up and running. This dream will not die. I will overcome difficulty and I will persevere. I do, afterall, have plenty of experience in that department. So dear readers, wish me luck, and for goodness sake's PLEASE follow my website!
This post is also posted on my other blog. Don't worry about that one, it isn't important :)
