Sunday, January 24, 2016

Loose Ends

Yes, I've been emotionally traumatized. By a book. My book. And the world goes on as though nothing has changed.

Write, rewrite, edit, and edit some more. Figure out how to make a pile of well-organized, well-edited words look like a real book. (Thank you, Katie.) Figure out how to make the physical book into an ebook. (Thank you, d4d@detailfordesign.com) Done! Ahh, the relief of completing a project three years in the making.

I published the paperback Crap Happens...Wallowing Is Optional on Halloween of 2015 and then the ebook version on Thanksgiving Day.

You can read a few chapters here:

I was on a high. Friends and family were buying my book at the house and online. Local shops allowed me to display and sell my book, most of them without taking a percentage. I even did a booksigning at Pages Books in Mt. Airy, NC.



Things have settled down now, and I'm trying to return to Normal, but I can't seem to find Normal on the map anymore. I don't write, except for my morning devotional/journal entries. Housework holds no appeal. I thought about making a quilt. Key word: thought.

If I'm really an author, or really want to present myself as an author, I have lots of work to do. I need to learn how to use Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, and Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn all to good advantage so the whole world will know who I am and will want to read my book.

Book. Not books. Can I write another book? Not unless I start writing, of course. Oh, Whoa Is Me. (You'll have to read Chapter 19 in Crap Happens to get the inside scoop [the poop] on that phrase.)

I have taken up coloring, but I can only color for so long. I've been working on this beauty for three days now. I'm pretty sure it's not my life's calling—simply a delightful diversion from wondering what I should be doing.
Loose ends: restless, unsettled, without a clear purpose.
Cindy: restless, unsettled, without a clear purpose.

Writing is hard. Even taking the time to write this blog post was hard. But I think I have to give it a try. See if the daily exercise of writing ties up those loose ends, knitting them into something meaningful and enjoyable.

But I still don't want to learn the fine details of promoting myself on all those social media sites. I'll just write for the enjoyment of writing. If family and friends want to tag along and see what I'm up to, that's good enough for me.