Ceara Comeau's Blog: Lessons From A Struggling Writer - Posts Tagged "writerslife"
No Turning Back
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! That’s what my brain has been screaming since the beginning of this month. Why? Well, I’ve been planning for one of the biggest book events of my career (so far). I’ll be heading to Canada to the Niagara Falls Comic Con on June 7th-9th. Sounds exciting, right? Definitely, but there’s a lot more to it than I originally thought.
I’ve spent months preparing for the event and it seemed every time I thought I had things figured out, Canada whispered to me, “But wait…there’s more!” And to top it all off, I get a letter from one of the Canadian officials who are in charge of the event stating that I’m one of ten foreign vendors! That’s right, TEN! “Great, no pressure!” is what I thought upon reading that letter. I didn’t know who these other nine vendors were and for all I knew, I was the only American! (I’m probably not, but that was just what my paranoid mind was thinking at the time).
With all the legalities involved and the constant stress of having all my ducks in a row, my dad asked me, “How much money have you put into this thing already?” I’m pretty sure my brain short-circuited at this question, but I simply said, “Too much.” I then started thinking, is this going to be worth it? But my mom said, “You can’t turn back now, you already put so much time and effort into this!”
So, at this point, I became so consumed with this event and my writing that I began to forget the important things. I forgot to enjoy the journey that I’m on. Yes, preparing for this event is a big thing and obviously writing is my career, but they’re not the only things going on in my life. I began to give myself more breaks and took up exercising more whether it be hiking or biking. I even started eating super healthy foods! And you know, it made such a difference in my overall mental state.
Now, I’m not saying go on a week-long fast or go climb Mount Washington. No, but I find that taking care of one’s self is far more important than any career or hobby. I mean, subconsciously we know that. But as people, we sometimes get caught up in the awesome moments of life that we tend to forget about ourselves. Think about it, if we don’t take the time to care for ourselves first, then our careers will suffer for it in the long run.
I’ve spent months preparing for the event and it seemed every time I thought I had things figured out, Canada whispered to me, “But wait…there’s more!” And to top it all off, I get a letter from one of the Canadian officials who are in charge of the event stating that I’m one of ten foreign vendors! That’s right, TEN! “Great, no pressure!” is what I thought upon reading that letter. I didn’t know who these other nine vendors were and for all I knew, I was the only American! (I’m probably not, but that was just what my paranoid mind was thinking at the time).
With all the legalities involved and the constant stress of having all my ducks in a row, my dad asked me, “How much money have you put into this thing already?” I’m pretty sure my brain short-circuited at this question, but I simply said, “Too much.” I then started thinking, is this going to be worth it? But my mom said, “You can’t turn back now, you already put so much time and effort into this!”
So, at this point, I became so consumed with this event and my writing that I began to forget the important things. I forgot to enjoy the journey that I’m on. Yes, preparing for this event is a big thing and obviously writing is my career, but they’re not the only things going on in my life. I began to give myself more breaks and took up exercising more whether it be hiking or biking. I even started eating super healthy foods! And you know, it made such a difference in my overall mental state.
Now, I’m not saying go on a week-long fast or go climb Mount Washington. No, but I find that taking care of one’s self is far more important than any career or hobby. I mean, subconsciously we know that. But as people, we sometimes get caught up in the awesome moments of life that we tend to forget about ourselves. Think about it, if we don’t take the time to care for ourselves first, then our careers will suffer for it in the long run.
Hand in Hand
A couple of years ago, I created a YouTube channel to review other indie author books. Sadly, life happened and I began to neglect my channel. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I got some serious encouragement/reality check from an unlikely source.
I was working at my 9-5 job and was organizing things in the backroom when my co-worker/manager above me came in. We started to chat a bit about nothing super important and somehow, we got onto the topic of internet videos. (I’m pretty sure the conversation involved Tick Tock as that’s one of his favorite things). Something inside me compelled me to talk to him about my dormant YouTube channel and his eyes pretty much lit up. It was honestly pretty funny. He took a break from work and looked at all my past videos. He then came back to me and said, “You’ve got to keep doing this!”. Even though he isn’t much into books, he thought the book review video concept was pretty amazing. And although his encouragement was super heartwarming and helpful, it’s what he said next that gave me an epiphany.
“You’re fighting against thousands of other writers. It’s a tough thing to do [write]. You can also go somewhere with these videos. I haven’t read your books, but from what I’ve been told [by another coworker], they’re pretty good. I can’t say you’ll become the next best-selling author, but I believe in you.” I can’t remember all that was said, but that is what hit me the most.
Then I started reflecting back on the videos and what he said. He’s right, all writers have it tough and we all need that one person that believes in us whether we become best-selling authors or not. That’s why I’ve decided to resurrect my channel.
I am always hearing (and guilty of saying), “Please review my book!”. Why do I feel guilty for saying it? Because before now, I wasn’t dedicated to helping my fellow author out by reviewing their work loyally. See, as indie authors, we hope people will review our stuff but how often do we actually think of reviewing “Sally” on Facebook who just asked for the same thing of her latest novel?
It was once suggested of me that I review popular books to get my channel huge. And, there’s a very good reason that I don’t. A LOT of people review books like, “Harry Potter”, “Maze Runner”, “Lord of the Rings”, to name a few. Those authors don’t even NEED reviews at this point let alone care to have them. Indie authors who have self-published through Amazon or through independent publishers DO! Most of those people are like me and are still working full-time jobs just trying to make ends meet, while at the same time trying to keep their author dream alive. Does this mean I won’t read popular books? Heck no, in fact, most of my bookshelves are caving in with the number of “popular” books I have.
I want to challenge you this year; this decade even. If you’re an indie author, practice what you preach. Get to know the author behind the book. Look up their website, PURCHASE, the author’s book, and ask them where’s the best way to post your review. Show your fellow indie author you believe in them! If we don’t speak up for our writing minority, who will?
I was working at my 9-5 job and was organizing things in the backroom when my co-worker/manager above me came in. We started to chat a bit about nothing super important and somehow, we got onto the topic of internet videos. (I’m pretty sure the conversation involved Tick Tock as that’s one of his favorite things). Something inside me compelled me to talk to him about my dormant YouTube channel and his eyes pretty much lit up. It was honestly pretty funny. He took a break from work and looked at all my past videos. He then came back to me and said, “You’ve got to keep doing this!”. Even though he isn’t much into books, he thought the book review video concept was pretty amazing. And although his encouragement was super heartwarming and helpful, it’s what he said next that gave me an epiphany.
“You’re fighting against thousands of other writers. It’s a tough thing to do [write]. You can also go somewhere with these videos. I haven’t read your books, but from what I’ve been told [by another coworker], they’re pretty good. I can’t say you’ll become the next best-selling author, but I believe in you.” I can’t remember all that was said, but that is what hit me the most.
Then I started reflecting back on the videos and what he said. He’s right, all writers have it tough and we all need that one person that believes in us whether we become best-selling authors or not. That’s why I’ve decided to resurrect my channel.
I am always hearing (and guilty of saying), “Please review my book!”. Why do I feel guilty for saying it? Because before now, I wasn’t dedicated to helping my fellow author out by reviewing their work loyally. See, as indie authors, we hope people will review our stuff but how often do we actually think of reviewing “Sally” on Facebook who just asked for the same thing of her latest novel?
It was once suggested of me that I review popular books to get my channel huge. And, there’s a very good reason that I don’t. A LOT of people review books like, “Harry Potter”, “Maze Runner”, “Lord of the Rings”, to name a few. Those authors don’t even NEED reviews at this point let alone care to have them. Indie authors who have self-published through Amazon or through independent publishers DO! Most of those people are like me and are still working full-time jobs just trying to make ends meet, while at the same time trying to keep their author dream alive. Does this mean I won’t read popular books? Heck no, in fact, most of my bookshelves are caving in with the number of “popular” books I have.
I want to challenge you this year; this decade even. If you’re an indie author, practice what you preach. Get to know the author behind the book. Look up their website, PURCHASE, the author’s book, and ask them where’s the best way to post your review. Show your fellow indie author you believe in them! If we don’t speak up for our writing minority, who will?
