It's been an interesting year, a strange one too, branching out on my own as an indie. I miss the security of having a publisher to help set up outings. At the same time, I learned much. Promises My Love had a 12 week blog tour, something my other books never had. I found a place to launch my book, an independent book store close to home. My previous launchings were quite different. My first, I hosted in my home and over 200 folks attended. It was fabulous and fun. My second, I held in a restaurant and hosted a dinner later. Not much money stayed in my pocket from that adventure. Again, it was a great time to celebrate with my family and friends.
I've only entered my book in a few contests this time, due mostly to not staying on task. I wanted to send it to many contests, but failed to follow through when the time came. I have no one to blame but myself for those failed opportunities. My library director encouraged me to send Promises My Love into the state wide contest held by the Illinois Library Association. I was happy it finalled.
Promises My Love received some great reviews ...
from Devotional Thoughts: "life is precious, and nothing is too dark to make the conscious decision to end it all... The author does an excellent job at illustrating her point through an amazing story of family, tragedy, and true love."
from Reader Views: "... the author takes you inside the mind of each character so you can see the world through their eyes and experience what they are feeling ... I truly enjoyed reading this novel, inspite of the pain of what the characters were experiencing, the strength of the love from others around them felt very heartwarming. While this is not a light story, it is definitely one that will leave you thinking about it long after you have finished."
Those few reviews and others like it, propelled me to continue into the next book. My next installment is in its final revision stages. It should be further down the avenue toward publishing, but again I am the only one at fault for that. My editor waits for my revisions. In the last few months I realized I've stopped doing one very important thing in my writing. I haven't set deadlines or goals for completion. I have always been a goal setter and can't say why I lapsed so badly this time. This one misstep has hindered my progress. I have to readjust my priorities. I must set a deadline for completion.
This blog will serve to remind me to stay on track. I'm excited to tell the rest of the story in my next book. My goal is to finish my revisions by the end of July. This may prove to push me over the edge since I have too many things going on right now. I must set my goals and stick to them. I need to finish this project and move it into the next phase. Until then, please consider reading, Promises My Love this summer! It's available in paperback or in e-book form.
Promises My Love is available on amazon.com:
Happy Birthday, Promises My Love!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Deb,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. Happy birthday to Promises My Love. Thanks for sharing the progression of the past year.
Good going, DL! That's the kind of stuff that makes it all worthwhile!
ReplyDeleteWe writers work too hard to not take a moment on the passage of time and what has transpired since the release of a book. Thanks for stopping by!!
ReplyDeleteDeb, happy belated birthday to you and your first indie novel. It sounds as if you did a great job promoting it. That's where I have trouble. I get the words written, the books published, but then stumble with the promoting. Good luck with the one you're working on now. Hope your goal to finish it by end of summer is met. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan. Promoting is a time sucker! With no guarantees of what works and what doesn't. But it is a big part of a writer's life. Thanks for stopping by!
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