I’m lazy.
That’s one of the first things I learned about myself as I was growing up. You know the kid that goes to the toilet before it’s supposed to do the washing up and just never comes out? Yeah, that was me. (It’s still me, except I’ve figured out better ways to skive off work than shutting myself in the loo with a book.)
So one of the things about self-publishing that’s hit me hard is the amount of work. To be honest, it wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t for the full-time (and by full-time I mean 40-55hrs a week) job. There’s just so much stuff to do. Yanno, stuff stuff. It’s not even real writing stuff. It’s stuff like hanging out on Twitter to connect with people (and getting carried away ‘cos suddenly you’ve met this awesome person who’s at the same place you are, and writes these really fantastic stories), or figuring how to promote your book/s, or trying to discover exactly how Goodreads works. (I mean, seriously, I JUST figured out how to Twitter!)
And that’s before you consider the hours of writing per day, sandwiched into my lunch break, or before work, or after work. Then when I get home, there’s the housework to do.
I’m lazy.
I don’t want to have to do all that. Only it’s so satisfying when it comes out right, and the book’s published, and you can get on with the next book. It’s satisfying to see the follower count for my blog go up. It’s satisfying to find out that having a Twitter Follow-Me! box is worth the time and effort to install. And it’s really satisfying when someone else downloads one of your books.
Still, I’m pretty pleased with my foray into self-publishing so far. I’m loving the level of control I have over my own book. I’m loving the fact that I can publish on my own schedule. And I’m loving all the fantastic people I’m meeting along the way.
I’m lazy, but there are some things that are worth working for.
Your industry inspires me. I’m split so many different ways right now, and writing/publishing takes a back burner because I’m my only taskmaster there. When the mental capital gets eaten by others’ projects and needs, it’s so much easier to take a nap than to put my brain in gear and write (or edit, or publish). So, it’s nice to see a good example in that arena. Thanks for sharing!
It’s much harder to concentrate on your own stuff when you have editing/formatting of other people’s projects to do. I’m lucky in that my day job is kind of mindless, so I can let my thoughts go. By break time I’ll often have more to write down than I have time with which to write it down- especially if I’m stocking shelves. Like you said, it’s all about that brain capacity. When I was learning a new job I could rarely write more than a few hundred words a day (if that!) because my capacity was being fully stretched by the New Things I was learning. I like having a mindless day job now 😀
Though if I’m confessing- I have a project I’m supposed to be helping a friend with, proof-reading and editing her MS. I got it about two weeks ago and haven’t touched it apart from a quick read-through because I’ve been so focused on finishing Spindle.