Releasing a book ain't no joke.
Especially when it's your first book. And you have a newborn at home. No matter if you're an indie author or go the traditional route, you still have to do a lot of work. Traditional publishing houses don't market the way they used to, so all authors are having to do a lot of extra work these days.
Besides having a website and blog, there's a lot of social media out there and I have to be the one to build and manage it. Plus my mailing list. Plus a slew of other things. At the same time, its kind of fun. Or it would be if I wasn't juggling my toddler and newborn on top of everything.
The release of my first book, The Misadventures of Catie Bloom, was meant to fall weeks after my baby was born. But then she came three weeks early, so everything has been pushed back. I don't want to feel like taking care of my newborn is a chore, so the book will have to wait a little longer to go out into the world.
But giving birth to a baby is nothing compared to giving birth to a book (okay, that's not entirely true)! I've been birthing my book for eighteen months. More, if you include all the other writing I've done to become a published author.
Being an author doesn't just mean you write books. You are a product. You have a platform. You run a small business. You have to understand how all the online algorithms work since so many books are sold digitally now. And you need live and virtual events to put your face and your 'brand' out there.
Yeah, it's not as glamorous as it once was. Or so I'm told. The days of releasing a book and going on a lovely book tour around the country are gone. Unless you're Emily Giffin or James Patterson. But I'm not. Not yet. Most of us aren't. And that's okay.
Luckily, when you love what you do, doing all the behind-the-scenes work isn't so bad. It's just surprising. At least, it was for me.
But I wouldn't have it any other way. If it means I can keep writing, I'll do it every day for the rest of my life.