I've written a few blog posts about working alone, at home. I have three jobs (Mom, Writer and Instructor) and none require I actually go to an office. There are drawbacks, loneliness being the biggest one, but that is eclipsed by the benefits. I love my flexible schedule and non-existent work uniform, the quiet work area and fully stocked lunch room.
Having so much flexibility can be great, but it really puts all the weight on my shoulders to get results and define what kind of results I want. It's an exciting challenge but I'm starting to get a better feel of the daily choices necessary to be a CEO. I'm having to filter out more than I let in or I'll just keep spinning my wheels in place.
I have fallen into the wide sea of book marketing sources. Once you put it out there that you are a self-published author, idea and programs start pouring in to help you market your book. Some of it is great, some of it is crap, and I could spend (waste?) days sorting through it all. At some point I have to stop researching, make some decision and move forward. Of course, the minute I do I receive a new article telling me that the option I just chose was the worst one another author ever used. (frowney face)
I have definitely made some mistakes while self-publishing and most have been due to a lack of information. It gets tempting to over-read and over-research my next move when I run into one of these errors. I could easily get into a mobius-strip cycle where I might think I was getting somewhere, only to find I'm actually just running in circles.
But I've learned another thing along the way (this just recently). I have to listen to my gut, to the way something feels, and base my decisions on that. What was a bad move for one author, might not be for me. Books are like fingerprints, each unique, so they need a fingerprint marketing plan. I created my book so I am the only one who can get a "feel" if I am on the right track.
By self-publishing I moved myself from worker bee to CEO. No one can give me a list of tasks that need to be completed. There is something so satisfying about crossing tasks off a to-do list and patting yourself on the back that you are on track. But it is so much more satisfying to study, research, plan, implement, analyze then start over again, learning from my mistakes along the way. I'm developing my CEO gut instincts with each move I make and it's a thrill ride. Labels: #♪☺♥, #amwriting, #romancewriter, intuition, self-published