So, here we are again – welcome back! ❤ For those just joining in a quick “here’s whats going on” — each week I’ll be posting my adventures in indie-authoring. What works…what doesn’t… and what I learn along the way. If you’ve spent any time in the indie-author world, you have probably learned that there is no “one right way” — each of our journeys is different and unique — but I hope you’ll find some tidbits here that may be helpful as we navigate through 2019.
This Past Week
Last week I talked about how I had been reading the book, The ONE Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, and also how I was going to reorganize my writing and publishing schedule for 2019.
You may also remember my big takeaway from last week: Have a plan… work your plan… but be flexible and willing to learn.
And… I got to put that big takeaway into practice over the past week! Here’s what happened.
If It Feels Off… Listen…
I had reworked my writing and publishing schedule for the year and was feeling pretty darn good about it. As you might recall I have a weighty and rather ambitious publishing schedule for 2019 because while I missed the mark on some of my goals for 2018, I came into 2019 with renewed determination to hit those this year.
My current fantasy series, The Idoramin Chronicles, had hit the “60-day cliff” on Amazon, so my visibility and sales dropped as a result. Expected, and certainly not uncommon. I’d wager most authors who publish on Amazon are as intimately familiar with the 30-, 60-, and 90-day drop-offs as myself. (Hence, why most successful indie’s sing from the rooftops about rapid release publishing, especially on a series)
Based on all that, and my reworked plans, I thought that the most sensible title to start with was Book Five from my Idoramin series. It would bump back up the visibility, and of course sell-through is a big deal when you are talking series.
And off I went!
But…
Something just didn’t feel right about my new plan. I couldn’t place exactly what it was, but there was … something. Like when you get that damned baby shark song stuck in your head and it just nags at you at the most random and inopportune times. ???
I’m not sure if other writers experience this… but when something feels ‘off’, for me, I have a difficult time getting pumped up and into the flow of my writing.
So, I took a break… backed away from it, and listened. I sat staring at all my plans and publishing schedule. And I went back and re-read parts of The ONE Thing. And I compared my publishing schedule with my big goals for 2019.
THEN… I used The ONE Thing mantra against my big goals for 2019.
“What is the ONE thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
And A-Ha!
And that’s when things started to click. I grabbed a notebook and started scribbling… and at the end of it, I had a new writing and publishing schedule for 2019.
The differnce? This one is 100% aligned and focused on my goals – which after applying the ONE Thing method, were themselves better prioritized.
And even better? I felt super-charged and ready to tackle ALL the books. 😀
What I Accomplished
It is so easy for us to learn something new – in my current case, The ONE Thing – but then never really make the concerted effort to apply what we learn to our lives or our business. I’ve done it, I’m sure you’ve done it, too – we all have, I’d wager.
This time was different. Maybe because it was still so fresh in my mind, maybe because I’m learning to listen to my gut and actually heed its advice (one of my goals for 2019! lol).
But – in listening to my gut, and then applying that awesome little thing I learned from the book, it switched my entire thinking and energy towards what I want to accomplish this year. And BOOM! Super-charged, ready to roll! PLUS – I have definitive, first-hand proof that the ONE Thing works for me, so it will definitely be a staple of my daily writing life moving forward.
Some things I was able to tick off my list this past week:
- Finished reading The ONE Thing — and put it into action
- Met with 3 indie-authors to provide tech services
- Created and implemented a new onboarding email series for my author-tech business
- Started using StoryOrigin for freebie novella giveaway to continue building my email list
- Created and implemented new onboarding email series for the StoryOrigin signups
- Completed the first 1/3 of book one of my nonfiction tech-for-authors series of books (WOOHOO!)
- Dealt with a dead battery in my old car /sigh/
- And all that pesky real-life stuff like cooking and cleaning ?
All in all – a great week!
Big Takeaway
[bctt tweet=”If something in your plans, writing, or current WIP feels ‘off’ — LISTEN! Your gut is trying to tell you something. Then get to work fixing it. ~Morigan Shaw~”]