Most of the time, when things don't happen on schedule, our natural reaction is annoyance. Stupid obstacle! Rubbish delay!
Taking on the publisher hat in addition to the writer hat has really challenged my attitude about delays. Doing things right is better than doing things fast. I can't tell you how many times in the processes of setting up my small business and preparing NEVER GONE for publication that delays have proven beneficial. I ended up delving into new social media to relieve the itch of waiting for my photographer to get back from vacation and my cover designer to take needed time to do color enhancements. I found and fixed some wonky ebook formatting while waiting for some early reviewers to tell me what format they preferred to read in.
I continue to wait to have the final cover files to do a reveal, and I'm pretty sure the wait will be for the good in some way.
So stay tuned. I'll soon share the look and a description of my "book baby"...when the time is right.
How have you been stretched in your writing life? Have you experienced times when your patience has paid off in unexpected ways?
Tuesday, September 4
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I've been thankful this year that I'm self-pubbed and don't have a publisher breathing down my neck with deadlines. I'd intended to have my sequel published in the late spring. But my mom ended up having 4 major surgeries in the last 12 months. So the sequel is late, and that's okay.
ReplyDeleteSetting your own schedule is a very large perk of self-publishing. The only one really "hurt" by your need to delay is you. Late can be great when you're time pressed.
DeleteDelays can be a blessing in disguise, absolutely! I remember going through that when I self-published CINDERS. Now that it is being republished with a publisher, I realize that even more delays might have made it better when I first did it, but I still learned a lot as it was, and it still ended up being a great project and done well. I wish you the best with yours!
ReplyDeleteFor sure when we can't barrel ahead, the time can be spent fixing and laying groundwork. Thanks for the well wishes, and the same to you with your fairy tale novella collection!
DeleteI get VERY impatient when I have to wait for other people to do things, so I end up doing most things myself. LOL. So I suppose you can say delays have been beneficial. They've taught me how to format poetry for Kindle, and learn how to use Photoshop properly :)
ReplyDeleteI kind of hit a wall when it came to Photoshop, especially because I know how much insane control you can have IF you know what you're doing. So I have waited on my friend the design pro who has exceeded my expectations. Worth the wait!
DeleteAh, yes, patience is a virtue, as they say. :) Good luck as you wait! Sounds like you are being constructive while you do it. (Ha--"wonky ebook formatting.") Will look forward to seeing your COVER!!
ReplyDeleteBoy, you said it all when you said this, Laurel! I'm still waiting for the B&N book to go live... tick tock tick tock! :D
ReplyDeleteIt's a whole different ball of waits when you're doing everything. ;p <3