One bite at a time

Navigating publishing and music festivals in the rain

Hello, hello! What a week? How was yours?
I went to Krakow for a long weekend last weekend with my sisters and parents and it was both overwhelming and wonderful. My parents are elderly and the city has a lot to offer, so navigating it all was tricky.

And then yesterday was the paperback publication of Closer Than She Thinks and it was also… overwhelming and wonderful.
Elated to get DMs of people receiving it and messages from friends who’d started reading, and also overwhelming as the day was significant for a number of personal reasons that made me want to nap.

And as I type this, I’m getting ready to go to a music festival. The first one I’ve been to in years and years and it feels, yep, you guessed it, wonderful and overwhelming.

I’ll tell you about the music festival in a bit, and why I’m repacking for the 112th time, but first, the book. I am SO PLEASED it’s out there.

The reviews, both online and in the press, have been really positive. This week, the book was chosen to be the Woman’s Weekly Loves which I am delighted about.

It also marks the end of my time with my publisher, as with the release of this book, I guess I am officially out of contract.
And that brings a whole other load of emotions into the mix. If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that writing this book wasn’t easy and took a long time. Being really honest, I struggled with the ongoing edits and rewrites, knowing what I wanted this book to be, and hating the journey it was making me take to get it there.

My WIP, In Her Pocket, is almost ready to send out to beta readers and I’m not going to lie, I’m scared of the next step. Not of criticism, I’ve had literally decades of rejections and brutal honesty of my work to have learned how to take that, but of losing my creativity mojo. From what I’m hearing of the publishing world out there, things are really tough. Really tough. It’s taking so long to hear back from acquisitions meetings to see if any publishers like your book, people are being ghosted left, right and centre, and once you do get a publisher on board, the horror stories of lack of communication and things going wrong are eye-opening.

The alternative is self-publishing, and I love that idea.

But that also comes with it’s own downfalls, the time it takes doing all typesetting, book cover design, proof reading and then all the marketing, and the upfront cost. Have I got the time for all that as well as writing and running my business?

It’s a tricky thing. I love creating and writing, but what step to take next?

For now, I’m not going to stress too much.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed with a task, I always ask myself what’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So the next bite is to get my WIP, In Her Pocket, as brilliant as it can be and see what other people think of it.

And I’ve also noticed that there’s is a wonderful sense of freedom to all this. Mixed in with the uncertainty, panic, and overwhelm I can detect a giddiness I’ve not had the privilege of feeling since signing the contract with my publisher back in 2018.
Anything could happen and I love that. I’ve missed that. The seductive pull of possibility is tip-top and it’s good to have it back.

So back to the music festival.
I’ve just checked the weather forecast and it’s changed, it’s gone from brilliant sunshine to rain all weekend, so I’m swapping t-shirts for jumpers and trainers for wellies.
I’m trying to stay positive and remind myself that this is the same as being out of contract, anything can happen. The weather report can change back, the rain could bring a great ambience but it will be an unforgettable experience either way.

Did I mention the last time I went to a music festival it was pre-kids and now I’m going with my kid?
He’s going to introduce me to some of his favourite DJ’s and music and I am so happy to be going. Delighted to be there for the ride, in the pouring rain or the sunshine, it makes no difference. It’s great to be invited and to be in the game.

Just like I am so happy to be creating again with the freedom of no definite outcome. Sunshine or showers, it’s just great to be in the game.

Have a lovely weekend,