Hey everyone,
I did it again. I accidentally poured boiling water all over my upper thigh and am now nursing huge second degree burns. It’s still fairly painful to touch, so I’m having to walk around in shorts, even though it’s freezing.
I told Sam I’d burned myself and he said, “Again?” The man can be forgiven for lacking sympathy, though, because this is the third time I’ve done this. In fact, each time it’s been the same leg, and for some reason always the upper thigh.
I don’t know if burning oneself is a hereditary skill, but my mother used to burn herself in the kitchen all the time. She never had any scars and I don’t either. (The secret is coconut oil, which has natural cooling properties.) Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who’s currently feeling sorry for me.
In the meantime, I’m lying in bed editing books because, you know, going out into the snow sans trousers might not be the best idea. I had a few shitty days last week and I remember saying the only thing that would make me happy is if it snowed. The next morning, I woke up and it was snowing, for the first time in almost a year. And it’s arrived again every day since.
Anyway, I’m one more book down on the editing front and getting into a sustainable rhythm. I should be done with them all by next month and then I’m going to have to start thinking about the print editions and, more importantly, the actual launch plan.
The last time my launch plan basically included throwing the books on Amazon, writing a newsletter editorial about it, and calling it a day.
I think we can do better this time.
I’m thinking I want to hit the blogs, the podcasts, and the newsletters, but I also want to be a bit more ambitious and think of traditional media. With my indie titles, I’ve never even considered national and international media before, but why not? And with all the experience I have writing for and pitching to major publications, surely I could pull off some kind of marketing campaign that interests them?
I’m considering it all. I’ve long had marketing plans and ideas for what I would do when I have books traditionally published, but for some reason I’ve never thought of applying those same strategies to my indie work.
It’s such a revelation, in some ways. If I want people to take my books seriously, then I’m going to have to take them seriously first. How many times have I taught this? Said as much in these very emails? Maybe it is true—we teach what we most need to learn. I didn’t know I needed to learn this. Good to know!
I wrote about this, in fact, in this post titled I’ve Self Published 9 Books. Here’s What I’ll Do Differently Next Time.
I hope it gives you some ideas on what you can do (and what not to) for your own indie journey.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Natasha