Almost A Week Off

Almost A Week Off

It’s been a week. Fire Race was officially published last week. I’m done! Ha. I’ve mentioned before that this begins the never-finished phase of writing a book: telling everyone about it. But not yet. I’ve been mentioning it every day online, but that only takes about ten minutes. There’s a lot more work to do. But first, a week off, almost.

Amazon’s ‘next day’ delivery of shampoo and paper clips can raise expectations that I’d have my copies of the book within 24 hours. Nope. Shampoo and paper clips can sit on a shelf, waiting to be boxed and shipped. The book won’t exist until the interior is printed, the exterior is printed, and the two are glued together. I suspect those machines are fast, but I also suspect that Kindle Digital Publishing is not a business with a lot of printers sitting idle, waiting for my next book. Get in line with the other millions of titles. Patience. Patience.

That’s fine. Waiting is fine. This is my ninth print book and my nineteenth book overall. (Ten are photo essays.) Printing takes time. 

Writing takes time, and energy, and work. Taking a week off – er – enduring a week of waiting has some positives to it. Take some time. Spend a lot less energy. Skip work for a while. That’s what this week has had hints of.

Some work got done. 

Business cards – Because I may not be able to hand someone a book, but I can hand them a business card. Mine are simple: the book’s front cover on one side, and contact information on the other side. I make sure the majority of the back side is blank because some folks actually take notes.

Online stuff – Web sites, Amazon Author page, social media accounts, etc. need, or at least benefit from, being updated to the new information.

Thanks – I wrote a book, but several people helped. Some were nice enough to simply hang onto copies of the drafts. I’d email them a draft as a backup. That is one simple way to create an off-site backup. Advice and opinions aren’t always easy to hear, but they do have an impact, and are usually sincere. Compliments and encouragements make it much easier to keep going. Contractors, but really fellow creatives, are sometimes paid and sometimes donate their efforts. It is a long list. That’s what the Acknowledgements section is for, but saying Thanks directly is more valuable, at least for me.

Does this list seem familiar? I am sure I am repeating myself, but as I wrote earlier, this isn’t my first book.

But, really, take some time off. Which I did, as long as it didn’t get in the way of the cards, online, and friends.

Sleeping in takes practice, evidently. Dining out does, too. That drifts back to a quiet normal soon. Hiking and bicycling happened as weather allowed. Visiting friends regardless of writing is mostly electronic, sad to say; but I just moved from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend, so most friends are still remote and fewer are in the neighborhood. Dancing. Dancing happens. Gotta dance.

By the way, last night’s dinner was a treat, but also an opportunity to spread the word. I dined alone, as is normal, so I brought a book along for company (Dan Simmon’s Endymion). The waiter saw the book and commented on it. I mentioned that I’d just finished mine. He is a scifi fan, so I handed him a card. Bonus.

And there was guilt. Guilt comes in because I recognize the work that needs to be done, or is at least something that respects the work. 

The books aren’t here, yet; but I’ve already started thinking of delivering them as thank yous, possible inventory for bookstores, possible inclusions to the local library, one for me, one for my kit for public speaking, and the rest for the back of the car.

Public speaking? Gotta find out who wants authors to talk. My island network is a ferry ride away, but now that I’m a different definition of local does that change that opportunity? I’ve moved to an equally arts-intensive place, but does that mean they have a surplus of speakers, or a great supply of readers and listeners, or both, or neither? Gotta start planning. I’m guessing it is too late for 2024 events. 2025 isn’t far away.

Did I order enough? Do I need to fill out the rest of my inventory? 

Social media? Sure. Been doing that, but now it makes more sense to make it even more social. It is time to engage with readers. Thanks for reading. Can I answer any questions? Pardon me as I direct any news about typos into a list that may eventually because a Revised Edition. Generally, take advantage of the fact that the book is a fact, not vaporware, or will be after next week’s delivery.

E-books? Oh yeah. Depending on the process (can I find the right file for Firewatcher to build an ebook from), it would be nice to publish the ebook versions within the next month or two.

The rest of the inventory – Remind folks that there are a lot more of my titles to pick from.

Screenplay – Remember that screenplay? I haven’t forgotten about it. I may not know what to do about it, but it is natural to insert it into many of these conversations. With some good luck, the right connection(s) will be made.

The next book – Notes are already filtering into my thoughts about the next book. In 2025, I intend to begin writing the sequel to Dream. Invest. Live., my book about personal finance for frugal folk. As some financial professionals have proclaimed, I’ve just been through a ‘perfect storm of bad luck.’ It drastically affected my net worth, but it has also been a ‘roller-coaster ride through America’s wealth classes.’ (America as in US, but using US would confuse the title. My apologies, Canada and Mexico.)

The next sequel – Write science fiction and create a world. Firewatcher opened a mental playground for me. Like most fiction writers, I now have a cast of characters to play with. As for science fiction, I also have alternative sciences to play with. The characters and the sciences become playmates, though they may not get along. It isn’t just the people and the sciences. The playground welcomes alternative cultures, social structures, possible futures, and a long stumbling opportunity to write about one combination which experiences unintended consequences as the story gets written. I already have a mental sketch of the sequel to Fire Race, a mental sketch of the cover design, and a list of prequels and sequels.

The next next book(s) – As I’ve found with every book I’ve written, I can see how I’d like to do the next one differently and hopefully better.

A week off? Originally, I planned on a small vacation, maybe even a coast-to-coast train trip. That didn’t happen. It might, but planning it was too much work. Instead, I’ve given myself license to sleep in, dine out, try to relax, and welcome rain because it kept me from filling the open time with yard work. 

One particular joy has been reading. The more I write, the less I read. Throughout writing Fire Race I gifted myself re-reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I needed something light and familiar. I also appreciated writing that was so good that I didn’t notice it until after I’d seen it go by. This week I’ve gone from such light reading to equally good yet intense reading, Dan Simmons’ Endymion, as I mentioned earlier. Heavy and intricate, and also tangentially associated with my inspiration for Fire Race because it too is about human reactions to artificial intelligences.

Whew. What a week. I’ll post this post. Take a break. Then, dine from a local food truck that one of my neighbors highly recommends. They even do gluten-free. Then, a movie? Nope. You see, I have some writing to do for my oldest blog…