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#IWSG Celebrate Writing Goals...Take a Break?


Happy March, Writers! Thank you to Alex J Cavanaugh for starting the Insecure Writers Support Group, where we air our hopes and fears.


Make sure to visit this month's cohosts:

Mary Aalgaard, Bish Denham,Jennifer Hawes, Diane Burton, and Gwen Gardner!


IWSG Day Question: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal / finish a story?


I haven't paid enough attention to celebrating in the past, maybe due to my worried brain and achiever personality. Instead of basking in the glory, I often jump to the next goal.

But my psychologist friend, Karen, insists on taking me out to dinner when I finish a novel, and it is important to revel in satisfaction after a completed goal.

Upon finishing a novel, I typically have a sequel or new story hopping in my brain. Since I finished Twin Sacrifice, though, it's been pretty quiet up in hearrre. 


I pushed hard at marketing my latest release and have felt bummed by sales, although the reviews have been very kind. Maybe my overall lack of plot ideas and return on marketing investment are a sign to take a break from writing for a while.

Have you taken a lengthy break from writing? How'd it go?




Comments

Natalie Aguirre said…
That's sweet that your friend takes you out to dinner. I've been forced to take many breaks due to working and raising my daughter, taking care of my late husband, and now my mom. So I never get to finish a project. If you love writing and are productive, I'd say go with it. Hopefully you'll figure out the marketing a bit better as you, but I think lots of people struggle with that.
Jennifer Lane said…
Thanks for the advice, Natalie. You're right that marketing is tough in a saturated book world. Your family is lucky to have your caring!
If your friend takes you out to dinner, let her! Good way to celebrate.
Anonymous said…
I hope there were some drinks with that dinner! I totally get the not basking in the glory because in this industry, it's sort of non-stop. Okay, you wrote the book... now you have to market it. Okay, you've marketed it... now you have to write the next book. It's never ending, but dinner is a nice dinner out is always welcome :)

I don't take long stretches from writing because I get all crabby. It's very cathartic to me, so I kind of *need* to do it.

But congrats on all the great reviews for Twin Sacrifice!
How nice to be taken out to dinner. I'd like that very much. Marketing and promoting is what I dislike the most about releasing a book. I love to write, but the despise the promoting aspect. I wish I had enough money to hire someone to do it for me, but alas, that's impossible. All sales have been off lately, it's not just you...
Nicki Elson said…
2017 was pretty much a writing break for me. Now that I'm back at it, I feel like the break was good for me. I'm back at the writing for the love of it without thinking ahead to publishing or marketing.

I have confidence that as Twin Sacrifice gets read by more people, the word will spread. It's a great story.
Jennifer Lane said…
Alex, trust me--I gobbled up that dinner invite!

CG, good point about the publishing industry. Always something to do next. Now that I think about it, I'm typically writing a new project while marketing old ones and maybe my singular focus on marketing is making me worry too much about book sales (no distraction from writing).

I know some writers need writing like a drug and it's interesting I haven't felt that way for a while.
Jennifer Lane said…
Cathrina, thanks for the encouragement. Yep, sales are down across the board and I'm still bummed. ;-) I hear ya on disliking the marketing component. I'm having trouble motivating to market.

Nicki, glad to hear the break worked well for you! I'm looking forward to reading about Molly.
Julie Flanders said…
I feel like I've been taking an unplanned break for almost a year now. I hope it doesn't end up being permanent LOL.
I'm sorry you are bummed about the sales of your latest. It's so hard! It seems like such a great book I hope with word of mouth it will find the audience it deserves.
Jennifer Lane said…
Julie, sounds like we're on similar paths! Thank you for the encouragement, and I wish you some writing muse mojo coming your way.
Bish Denham said…
I've taken many long breaks from writing and am one on now. And, I know, I'll have a very prolific burst again where I write furiously a produce masses of stuff. That's the way I've been all my life so I don't sweat it when I'm not writing.

My problem is in the editing/revising department. That's where I get bogged down and lose interest...
Diane Burton said…
Now that's a good friend. Sales have been dismal across the board all last year. I'm trying not to let it get me down. I just keep putting my books out there and hope for the best. Hubs, on the other hand, is concerned about ROI--more the time I put into writing, blogging, promoting than the money. Still, it is discouraging about sales. Good luck!
That's a shame about the sales. I thought Twin Sacrifice was a great read. I can't even begin to imagine launching my first book. All the work you need to put into marketing seems daunting and sales seem hard to come by.
Jennifer Lane said…
Bish, it's great you know what schedule tends to work the best for you. I'm still a little new to writing so it's hard to predict if I'll want to come back after a break, but whatever happens is probably meant to be! I work with a fantastic editor so that part is fun for me.

Diane, Karen is indeed a great friend! I've heard other authors talk about their husbands questioning their investment when sales aren't awesome, but I'm sure your hubs has some business ventures/hobbies that aren't super lucrative. Thanks for the validation.

Ellen, you are so kind to read my novel! Are you getting close to a launch? I had more success with a past book that was in a hot genre at the time (new adult sports romance) and marketing does seem like a fickle beast.
Gwen Gardner said…
You're like me, I'm always just on to the next project too. But celebrating is a good idea, and it's nice to share your accomplishments with friends.

I took a year off and did a lot of studying the craft and reading. It was awesome!
Jennifer Lane said…
Gwen, thanks for stopping by. That's a good idea to study the craft during some time off--I certainly have a lot to learn about writing and it's fun to improve little by little.