IWSG: HARD WORK - It's What's for Dinner...and Lunch, and Breakfast, and morning snack and afternoon tea and bedtime bites and noontime nibbles and midnight munchies and...

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for

Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group

I hate Seattle in February.  It's the coldest month of the year here, and when everyone else in the US is looking forward to March and springtime weather, we in Seattle know we have at least another four months of cold, rainy, dreary weather.

But February also boasts of the first small glimpse of what's to come. Invariably, there'll always be a day or two where the sun shines in a gloriously clear blue sky, and the temps rise into the upper 50's or higher. When that happens, I jump in my car, put the top down and the tunes on, and cruise around Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington. It's enough to keep me going until the real spring weather comes along.

That's kind of how it is when you're newly published with a small press, and you've been buried in marketing, of which you have no skills whatsoever. I take tiny little baby steps everyday, but it's progress. And my rankings reflect that.  Well, usually, but not always. They're still not great, but they're improving at a consistent rate, so it's heartening.  It’s like that bit of warm sunshine and blue sky in February. 

My point?  Well, we writers love what we do, but let’s face it, with all the rejection, it can be seriously depressing.  It’s a mind-numbingly slow process, and though we do the actual work alone, we cannot “make it” alone.  We need betas and critique partners, agents and publishers, bloggers and book reviewers.  You just can’t do it without them, or at least some of them anyway. 

But I’m here to tell you, it can be done, and I’m one of those exceedingly average people who accomplish some success, but never in spectacular fashion.  I have no visions of superstardom or the financial windfall that comes with that.  I don’t ever expect to make much money on my book, and honestly, that was never the point.  I just wanted to write a really good book readers would enjoy, and I wanted to publish it traditionally.

I didn’t consider all the work I’d have to do on the marketing front, and I will admit, it isn’t easy, but neither was writing the book, or revising, or querying, or editing.  Every step was and still is a challenge, but I learn a little something everyday, and I make a bit more progress everyday, too.  And because I am that Average Annie, I know if I can do it, then so can you. 

No matter where you are in the game—writing, revising, querying, edits, and yes, even marketing—it's all a matter of baby steps, forward momentum, no matter how small, and no matter how much you got pushed back the day before.  If you want it bad enough and you’re willing to learn and take the steps necessary, you will make it.

So don’t give up.  Remember your dream, and... 

IWSG: The Courage to Go On

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, time for

Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

Being insecure, I’m usually a taker during these little IWSG sessions.  I typically gripe and moan about all the things moving against me, most of which I have no control over.  And while I feel no differently this month than I do most any other, I’m not going to give in to it this time.

As a newish writer, I’ve gone through all the normal ups and downs, the doubts about my talent and skill, my loathing of querying, landing a book deal, its eventual launch, and, most recently, less than stellar sales, plus every blip imaginable in between.  And now, when I should be focusing on what comes next, like my second book, I’m instead obsessed with my lack of serious marketing skills and how I should rectify that. 

It never ends.  The worrying, the doubt, the insecurity…no matter how much success I manage, there’s always the big unknown looming ahead.

So what’s an insecure writer to do?

First off, focus on those small, hard-earned successes and remember where you were just prior and how far you’ve come since starting out, especially how high the odds were that you would even make it this far.

Second, once you’ve identified where and what you lack or what the next problem is, set into motion a plan on how to fix it.  For me, that meant finding a book tour company better suited to my genre.  Even a repped author can’t solely depend on an agent or publisher to know what’s best for you and your book.  It’s true what they, you know, that authors must learn to market themselves and their titles.  That’s a big chore if you know nothing about marketing, because before you even put a plan into motion, you must teach yourself what those components might be. 

That’s most daunting, I think, ‘cause this is serious business we’re talking about, incredible potential you don’t want to slip through your fingers due to ignorance.  It’s all in the baby steps, I say.  Yeah, sure, that tiny step might not work or be in the right direction, but you learn something when you make a mistake.  Even better, you might meet someone who can help you out, point you in the right direction, or give you a referral to another who can. 

So that’s my message.  While I know it would be pointless to say don’t worry, I will say this, don’t let it get it you down.  Don’t let it consume you to the point where you can’t move, can’t take another step for fear of failing.  Just taking the step is a measure of success.  Go ahead, pout, cry, stomp your foot and rave like a lunatic.  Then pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and take another teeny tiny step.

Yes, it takes time and patience, and I mean a lot of patience. And you should measure success in millimeters not miles.  But don’t quit.  You never know when things will turn around, when you’ll meet that one or few people who will make a difference.  You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And remember...