Wednesday, August 6, 2014

#IWSG Some Days I Feel Like Throwing in the Towel


Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It's a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

~~~oOo~~~

It's that time of month again, where we the members of IWSG get to share our woes & offer encouragement.

Today, I'm mostly woes. Sorry.

Summer has obliterated any and all thoughts of forward progress on my latest WiP, Love's Revenge. Having 3 kids at home with me all day every day will do that, I guess. I already talked my publisher into pushing back the release date from November to January, and I'm STILL nervous I won't make the new deadline!!

Sales are non-existent on my previous publishings.

Garnering attention and reviews is tougher than driving a nail into steel.

To top that off, I'm trying to organize a blog tour for my upcoming October release - Secret of the Souls (Pool of Souls #2), and to say it's SLOW going is an understatement.

Some days, I question this little passion of mine called writing. Today? Yup. Big time.

Some days, I feel like throwing in the towel...

~~~oOo~~~

How 'bout you? Ever get down in the dumps over your passion's lack of enthusiasm in giving back for all your hard work? Ever want to toss in the towel & call it a day?

21 comments:

  1. Everything has a season. You have a new release coming up and that will spur sales of the other books. Always happens.
    If you need more help for your tour, let me know.

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    1. Alex - you're the best. :) You already signed on for the tour for Oct 13th.

      Thanks for stopping by!!

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  2. I do feel like that sometimes. Having little ones running around though wonderful uses up all your energy. Moms have so little time for themselves and are always putting the needs of others first. Don't put aside your dreams even if things aren't going exactly as you planned.

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    1. I refuse to put them aside - it's all I do for myself. Some days are just tough, & you're right about the energy!

      GONE!

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  3. Don't throw in the towel! We all face these struggles. The sales for my previous ebook is pretty much nonexistent, too but that's why I'm excited to publish my novella next month.

    I had signed up for your blog tour and I'm looking forward to it. If you need any help, let me know. I'm opening my blog to author interviews, so we can do one for you in the meantime. :)

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    1. You're a true sweetheart, Chrys!! Thanks for the words of encouragement today.

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  4. If you need more people for the tour, sign me up! Would love to host you.

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    1. Here's the form! Thanks so much!!!

      https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jeadjIRneLub7C_TiNG05T7ETAuB-jjhsqO9EMWcENY/viewform

      Delete
  5. Some days, the end of my book seems so far off into the future I just want to give up. But then I talk to my daughter about the book's plot and I get all excited about it all over again. It's a long haul, but you've done it before so I know you'll do it again.

    If you still need any help on your blog tour, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

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    Replies
    1. Talking about the plot with my mom is the same for me!! Thanks for the encouragement.

      The sign up link is in the reply above if you're interested.

      Delete
  6. I could have written this post myself, except for the part about kids home for the summer. But yes, that used to be me, and I didn't write much in those days. Low sales on my books and poor reviews always discourages me. And I have a book coming out in October as well. There's always hope on the horizon, like maybe the next one will be well-received.

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    1. I can only hope, Karen. I'm also hoping the release will boost sales of past titles.

      Thanks so much for the encouraging words!

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  7. Aloha Terri, Thank you for voicing some of my same concerns, especially about garnering reviews. Your analogy of nails and steel is spot-on! Best of Success with your latest WIP.

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  8. I would never stop writing, but yeah, sometimes I do think the business side of things sucks the the big one. I want to write and have compromised by forcing a good attitude on revising, but the rest--bah. The rest of it is not fun for me and that`s why I need the group.

    Anna from Shout with Emaginette

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  9. I have three kids too, and I had to give up on a November release date. Talk about parallel lives...

    Hang in there. Have you run any ads? Check out The Fussy Librarian, Digital Book Today, and The Kindle Book Review (or their 'Romance' review version).

    Hugs, Terri.
    IWSG #184 until Alex culls the list again.

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  10. Gail - thanks so much for the best wishes. Same back at you!!

    Em - bah = amen. Love you!

    Melissa - ha! No, I haven't run any ads. Don't have the $!!! I'm totally doing this by the skin of my teeth. Every penny I make goes into swag and print copies for the next release. I've yet to make enough to spend on anything else. :(

    Thanks ladies for stopping by!

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  11. I completely feel you. My little ones are all consuming this summer and my forward writing progress has ground to a major halt. Does it make me a bad mom to pray for school to start tomorrow? lol!

    Hang in there!

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  12. Hi Terri, please don't throw in the towel, these trying times will pass. If you want I can host you on my blog where you can talk of your previous books. You can either do a guest post or a Q n A.

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  13. I have two kids at home for the summer and I can't get anything done, so I can imagine how difficult things can get with three, but hang in there. A lot of people are on vacation during this time of year and sales will slip. But hang in there, and with your blog tour coming up, things should pick back up once the vacation season is finished. Good luck to you!! I'll look for you on twitter and help spread the word about your book/blog tour when the time comes. :)

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  14. I find it ironic that I'm reading this on a day where truly.. I want to throw in the towel, watch it swirl around..

    So yes, Terri. I get it. I truly get it. A lot of effort for a little gain. I think the deal is we need to fall in love with writing again. For only then will we understand why we do this. /hugs

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  15. Sheryl - you're exactly right. Some days falling in love with writing again is our only hope. Thankfully, I did that 3 days ago, so I'm feeling a bit better. Not gung-ho by any means, but at least I'm writing again.

    Hugs back to you! Keep your chin up.

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