Reflection

Six weeks from the launch, but it’s only now that the travel and holiday frenzy is wrapping up that I can breathe a bit. It feels good, at the end of a year, to be able to point to concrete things to show for all your efforts. I am not always happy with the rear view, and almost never kind about it. It never feels like enough. And so much that occupies most of us is stuff we’ll have to do again – the hamster wheels of laundry and dishes and meal prep and work. Separating what I do from feelings about who I am seems like a worthy goal (dare I say resolution). You can do nothing for a bit, it’ll be okay.

But even I can accept that “published a book” is a nice one to have on the Got Done list. I am aware of the weight that’s been lifted. This thing I’ve talked about for literal years is done.

The response from friends and acquaintances has been overwhelming – so much trust and kindness, it’s hard for me to take in. I think it was an important first step for me. A lot of the advice out there about marketing these things starts months before the launch, and that just wasn’t possible for me. This early proof-of-concept period among the closest circle was necessary, and I feel fortified now to send it out into the world.

What that exactly looks like it a bit of a mystery, but I did pay a consultant for help and I’m armed with spreadsheets and information. I’ve submitted to Library Journal’s Indie Author Project, and I plan on submitting to their yearly prize next April. I likewise submitted to Publisher’s Weekly for a few things – a non-fiction prize, an unlikely review in the regular magazine, and a definite (pay-for-play) review in PW Book Life, which supports indie publishers like me.

All that almost sounds like a list of things I did, but in fairness, these are clicking through a form and uploading a file type of activities. Still, once I get the paid review back and the critics report from the prize submission, it will (one hopes) be easier to build out my author pages on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads.

I almost sound like I know what I’m doing. Don’t be fooled!

I do like the way this feels, though: one thing leads to another, bigger thing. Effort is rewarded, etc. This will sound familiar to those who have read the book, but that’s how I’ve always thought things would go. Building blocks gave me a wrong impression about how the world works. But I am feeling good about it, way more secure than I did on launch day, thanks to my wonderful network – family, friends, coworkers from over the years. I am fortified for the next leg.

I hope you are too, whatever that may mean for you in 2025.