S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 103

Say Anything Saturday – Experimenting

As most of you know, I love to experiment. I’m always taking new ideas, tweaking them, and trying them out with my own processes. Over the years, I’ve tried outlining, fast drafting, beats, dictation, etc etc. and each time, my process has changed a little to make me a better storyteller and a faster writer. Those are my two main goals as an author: better and faster. Since I do much of the publishing process myself, better and faster are the most appropriate goals for my business.

I’ve found dictation to be a huge boon to my writing career. It’s relieved a lot of pain in my hands and given me mobility while writing, instead of sitting all the time at a desk. But dictation into the computer, watching the words come up on the screen, is slow for me. I’m constantly re-reading things I wrote and correcting. I’m not as fast as I’d like to be. So, I decided that my next step will be transcription. Transcription is when you speak into a recording device (like the voice recorder shown above or your phone or whatever), and then later, you bring the audio file into Dragon for it to be transcribed. This is something I want to conquer this year. I’ve avoided it in the past because of my poor short term memory, but I think I have a way to make that easier.

I’m going to start writing out what I want to happen in the scenes I want to dictate ahead of time. I’m going to sit down and write them out by hand in notebooks, hoping that by leaving my devices behind, I’ll be less distracted and my memory will stick better this way. There are two notebooks here because, in the next few weeks, I hope to start writing on two books at once. I tried this in December and really liked the process. Work on one book for a bit, then switch to the other, making sure to hit word counts for each every day. That way I’m always moving forward.

So my next experimental process will be to brainstorm my scene in the morning in the notebook, dictate into the voice recorder until I’ve accomplished that scene, switch to the other book and do the same. Then take a break while Dragon is transcribing each file and spend the afternoon making corrections and adding to what I dictated. Repeat each day until the books are done.

I’m wondering how well I’ll do! I’ll be sure to let you know how the experiments turn out!

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Sunday Update – February 5, 2017

I can barely remember what I did this week. It was one of those weeks that was filled with tons of little things to do and I’m surprised I got any real work done.

Monday was my best day, I think. I spent the time while the kids were at school working on my copy edits for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP. Nothing else really happened so it was a pretty good day, if cold.

Tuesday, it snowed and I spent a good two hours completing a Costco run. This always takes up a lot of my time. I only go once every 3 or 4 months, so when I do, I buy a lot. The hard part is getting it all back into the house and put away. I crammed all my edits into the afternoon and evening on Tuesday because my morning was spent shopping.

On Wednesday, the cleaning ladies were here and I worked in the basement, then I continued my edits in the evening while the kids were at tennis. Thursday was gym day which takes up my morning, so again I crammed edits into the afternoon while my kids had piano lessons.

Friday, I went to Panera to hang out with my buddy, Amy. I got some edits done before Panera and after. I very rarely actually work at Panera, Lol. I spend a lot of time talking to Amy about life and writing, so I do get a lot done, just not on the computer. We talked a little of our upcoming projects and what we want to be working on. That’s often as helpful as just working! I really value the time we can get together and talk this stuff over.

Yesterday, I put the pedal to the metal and got three chapters of editing done, which only leaves three chapters left of the whole book. I’m so close! I hope to work hard today and finish up. I did promise to take the kids out to get Valentine’s Day cards and to get frozen yogurt as well so I have to start working as soon as I post this.

What else happened this week?

All the geese were curled up on the ice. It was cold and I’m not going to walk in that freezing temperature again.

I had a fabulous lunch after going to the gym on Thursday.

Working working working. On the couch and in bed.

And drinks were had.

Expect posting to be very light on the blog this week. I have a lot of work to do, and I don’t have any posts banked up for the interim. See you all later!

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On The Merits Of Author Dreams

I woke up on Thursday morning and was greeted with the happy news that several more of my FB author friends were both NY Times Best Sellers and USA Today Best Sellers. I’m pleased to say that this happens often enough that it almost feels de rigeur now. Lol. I remember when my friends list on FB was less than 300 people, and in the last nine years I’ve been on the social network, my reach has grown to almost 1000. That’s a lot of people! And when I’m not scrolling past politics, I’m witnessing a slice of humanity, a swirling amalgam of wants and needs. Of dreams.

Watching my fellow authors work hard reminds me that we all have dreams, dreams of writing, publishing, succeeding. While the newbie writer dreams of finishing a book, an intermediate author wants to earn $1000 per month, and that experienced author is shooting for the best seller list. Each level is dreaming of their next hurdle, their next winning. Each dream spurs them on.

I can’t tell you how important these dreams and goals really are. Sure, we can just be happy with what we have, never urging ourselves to do more, but I argue that stagnation is death in a creative field. I recently watched a documentary on an artisan village in Western Japan that made this clear for me. A woman in a wood-working shop was making wooden bowls and the interviewer asked her about her method. She mentioned that making bowls may not seem like anything special, but refining her technique and always improving until she could make the bowls perfectly each time was her passion. She was always striving to be better. It was her dream to be the best at what she was doing. But it’s also a very Japanese ideal to feel like perfection can never be reached. Our dreams must always grow and evolve over time to make our lives and our work better and better. We must acknowledge our progress and be thankful for our hard work, but the goals and dreams should move further down the field as we accomplish each milestone. I see this mindset in the successful authors I know. They’re always working harder, writing faster or better, dreaming bigger.

Last year, I lost my dreams for a while. It’s hard to admit, but it was real. I dreamed of making $100 per month, and I only made $30. I dreamed of finally breaking even with my business, and I only fell further into the hole. I remember staring out my front house window (one of my favorite pastimes) and thinking I should give up. My dreams were important, but they were also devastating. And then, I changed things. I switched my dreams. I had this little series I’d started, a mystery series that I loved, with a character I could relate to. She had her own dreams that were crushed and she had to figure out how to find new dreams amongst the wreckage. She was my daydreamer, a light at the end of the tunnel. I began to think about her all the time, wonder how she was going to get by, where she would take herself. Her struggle wasn’t real, it wasn’t mine, but it was what pulled me forward and kept me moving. She became my dream, reigniting my passion for success. Without her, I wouldn’t be here.

When authors around me shared their dreams, they inspired me to do the same. Some people may be jealous of another’s success, but not me. It gave me the boost I needed. When people I know and root for everyday made the NYT list this week, it gave me a new dream, one I can’t even say out loud because I’m so embarrassed by how small it is. But it’s mine. It’s keeping me going. Hopefully some day I can achieve it!

Author dreams are worth the long hours of work. They’re worth the blood, sweat, and tears. They’re also worth the effort to climb on their backs and reach for the next dream.

The only way forward is up.

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February 2017 Goals

We started out a whole new year in January and because I set up goals for the entire year then, I skipped the monthly goals post. We’re now back on track!

What Happened With January’s Goals?

Finish writing the first new sci-fi book. DONE! The first book of the Hikoboshi series is complete! I finished it in the first week of January, and it’s been on my mind ever since. I’m super excited about this Nogiku series spin-off!

Get my Nogiku Series box set up everywhere. Done, and I’ve even sold a few copies of them. They’re available on all vendors.

Get moving on my audiobook challenge. This goal is moving along! I’ve listened to 3 audiobooks and I’m listening to my 4th now.

Walk 84 miles. In order to meet my goal of Walking 1000 Miles in 2017, I need to walk 84 miles per month. I crushed that goal this month with 105.2 miles walked. YES! I walked a lot, both at my treadmill desk and outside. It felt great, and I’m proud of my strong beginning. Plus, with a year-long goal, I can front-load my miles and that gives me the leeway in case I get sick or whatever.

Business Goals For February

Finish the edits on THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP and publish. I’m currently on track to finish edits and get it off to ARC readers on February 10. I hope to publish on or around February 23rd.

Start two brand new books. I want to read over the first Hikoboshi sci-fi book and brainstorm what I want to happen in the second book. Then I want to start the next Daydreamer book as well! I want to try working on two books at once again, as that was good for my productivity. If I find I can’t do two books at once, the second sci-fi book takes priority and I’ll concentrate on that.

Convert all my book links on my website. I’m moving over to using all Books2Read links and I’m updating all my current links with affiliate codes.

Personal Goals For February

Keep walking. I’m doing good with keeping my head up in the cold winter months and walking is certainly helping. I need to press on with this!

More reading and audiobooks. This is going well and I’m enjoying both reading and listening to audiobooks. Yay!

More knitting. I haven’t touched my knitting since Thanksgiving.

Sunday Update – January 29, 2017

Another busy week has passed us by! This week in particular was harder than others because my husband was gone all week while all this craziness was happening at home here in the US. He was in London for work, and we were only able to talk to him twice due to busy schedules. But he’s home now! Yay!

My work life this week was dominated by revisions of THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP. I’m on a schedule to edit two chapters every day and hopefully publish this book at the end of February. This is the copy edit phase of production. I’ve heard back from my initial readers that there are no real flaws with the story, a few loose ends to be tied up, and overall, they were very happy with it. Which is awesome! Now, I’m fixing things like sentence structure, repetitive words, and clarifying anything that was unclear. This is where my stories usually get 100x better, so I enjoy the process of nitty gritty word-level editing. It’s fun and really brings out the clarity of the story.

I didn’t do much besides work on Monday. Tuesday was busy with work, school, tutoring for my oldest, and then Girl Scouts for her in the evening. Wednesday, my kids had their usual tennis lessons. They go from 4PM to 5PM, and this was the week that we left tennis lessons and it was still light outside!! That makes me so happy, knowing we’re getting more light every day and winter, though still in full swing, is fading away little by little.

Thursday was a day off for us, which was nice. We had nothing to do after school and could just kick back and rest. Friday was mayhem in the evening. My youngest has gymnastics right before dinner, so I took her there, and then we all got some pizza next door afterward. My husband’s plane back from London landed early, so I then ran home to make sure he had something to eat. I knew he had a really crappy flight back as he was bumped from his seat to a lower class, and coming home to a hot meal would be nice for him.

Yesterday, I went for a nice long walk in the morning and then worked until we all went out for a belated birthday fancy meal together. I got to eat lobster, which I love, and both kids came along too. It was a nice family meal together, even if the youngest kid only ate bread and cheese and didn’t want ANY of the 100 desserts on offer. Sigh. Always something.

What else happened this week?

I set out my schedule for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP!

I cooked butternut squash in my Instant Pot and loved that I didn’t have to peel it.

Lots of working and some of it done in bed.

I only asked for one thing from London, Crunchie Bars. Lol. I got them!

I had two lobsters at dinner last night. I regret nothing.

And that’s it for this week! I expect to update the blog twice again this week, so I’m sure you’ll hear from me again soon!

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Book Chat #29 – YA Scifi, A Newsletter Exclusive, Chris Fox, and More!

It appears that I can’t trust Amazon and their embeddable code anymore for my Book Chats, which is annoying because it was EASY. But I just looked back at my last Book Chat to remember where I left off, and more than half the images are broken. WTF? I give up. I’m going to download them and upload them to the blog. Sigh. Never easy!

What I’m reading…

Currently I’m reading RED WINTER by Annette Marie. It’s a fantasy series set in mythological Japan! So, of course, I got it and started reading it immediately. I’m already enjoying it with only a couple of chapters in. My reading time has been very limited lately, so this one may take me a while to get through.

What I read…

I managed to finish two books since we last had a Book Chat! THEIR FRACTURED LIGHT by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner was a good way to end the Starbound series. Though I caught a few inconsistencies and the heroine had this knack for making decisions that boggled my mind, I really enjoyed this book. I looked forward to reading it every chance I got. I must say that I’m going to be more careful about buying from traditional publishers and always use the Look Inside. This book was poorly formatted. I have a lot of trouble reading books that are not fully justified, and when the right margin jumps all over the place, it makes my eyes tired. I would almost rather get the book in paperback if that were the case, or not at all. I was disappointed I had paid so much for an ebook that was like this.

I also read IN WITH THE NEW by Tracy Krimmer, which is exclusive to her mailing list subscribers. I enjoyed this one and it was perfect to read over the holidays. I liked that, even though the story was short, we saw both sides, alternating chapters between hero and the heroine. The ending was super sweet too. This is available only for a short while through her mailing list, so pick it up today if you’re interested!

I got an advanced reader copy of X DARE by PK Hrezo in November. I then read it sometime in late November/early December, but I forgot to put it in a Book Chat back then. X DARE was really fun! I like the fact that we follow the protagonist through a world like a video game, and his adventures were thrilling! I just gave this book to my daughter to read as well.

 

What I’m listening to…

I’ve currently queued up HEARTLESS by Marisa Meyer to listen to. I haven’t started it yet but I’m excited to listen! I heard this audiobook was good, and I really liked her Lunar Chronicles series.

What I listened to…

As you know, I’m doing an audiobook challenge this year! This first one I finished in December so it doesn’t count, but the rest do.

I finished listening to THE END OF ALL THINGS by John Scalzi. It wasn’t my favorite of the series, but I still really enjoyed it and looked forward to listening to it each time I put it on. I really wanted to find out how it would all end, and he did a great job of tying everything up. I think I just missed some of my favorite characters.

My first audiobook for the Audiobook Challenge was BABYLON’S ASHES by James S. A. Corey. I devoured this one! I put off all podcasts so I could just listen to this. God, I love the Expanse series! It’s definitely it in my top 10 for all scifi books. This one had me enthralled. I loved seeing what happened to the rings, Naomi’s ex, and everyone on The Rocinate. I’m already craving the next book in the series.

The second book of the challenge was Chris Fox’s WRITE TO MARKET: DELIVER A BOOK THAT SELLS. I’ve been very interested in how writing to market works and what I can do for my next series that will help it sell better. There were some great tips in this book with lots of exercises to do to help get the information you need. Though some of the tips were a little controversial, all in all this is one book every author should read or listen to. I thought listening to it was a great experience, kinda like listening to a podcast. So I highly recommend it. I bought another book in his series to listen to next.

Anyway, lots of books listened and read! It’s been a productive time since my last Book Chat! Hope all your reading is going well!

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The Bliss Of Long-Distance Walking

I recently came in from a four mile walk, took one look at my husband and said, “I have found my bliss and it’s long-distance walking.” He then proceeded to tell me I had completely turned into my mother. Yes, it’s true. All I need is a dog and I will be exactly like her. Lol.

In all seriousness, I have been searching for years for the perfect exercise for me, and it turns out it’s been right in front of me all along. If you’ve been following along for the past year or two, you know I’ve been walking a lot. I usually load up my iPhone with some podcasts or an audiobook, get out there, and hit the park. For a while, I thought I would be into running, but no, it was too hard on my knees. Then I thought maybe I would pick hooping back up again. But hooping calls way too much attention to itself, and I like to blend into the background. What I really needed to do was walk longer and farther. Two or three miles a few times per week wasn’t enough. Do that much every day? Now we’re talking. Throw in even more walking on the weekends, and I’ve finally found what works. Combine it with a trip to the gym every week to lift weights, and I have something that provides me with bliss.

There’s something about walking that really appeals to me. After the first mile, I’m usually able to turn off my attention to my body and just listen to my podcast or audiobook without even noticing where I am or what I’m doing. It’s a meditative state of being, almost transcendent. I walk past dozens of people and don’t even recognize them! I realized recently that I should probably not change up my walking routine because I’m fairly inattentive when I’m in this blissful walking state. I walk in a park near my home that’s pretty safe. Lots of other people are there walking and the county police are usually there too. The path around the park is well maintained and traffic is minimal. It’s really a perfect place to walk. Just look at how beautiful it is!!

The only problem with long-distance walking is weather. I live in the Northeast US which means cold, snowy winters and hot summers. I came up with a rule for winter walking and it’s “28ºF and up as long as it’s dry.” My main nemesis in the winter is ice. Last winter I slipped on ice a few times and it made me stay home more than I liked. This winter I want to be careful but go out more. The outdoor air and sunlight is important for my mood! But if I have to, I can always walk indoors on my treadmill, which I do often. I have a treadmill desk, and if I do two writing/editing sessions a day, I can get in four miles easily. It’s a good compromise when the weather outside isn’t cooperating.

My goal this year is to walk 1000 miles by the end of December. So far, so good! It has definitely been a lot of walking so far to meet this goal, but as long as I’m able to walk every day, I’m doing it. I don’t regret making this goal. I’m feeling much healthier and happier for it. I’ve found bliss with every stride and every mile walked. I know better than to let that go.

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Sunday Update – January 22, 2017

Why are all the weeks just rushing by? I wish I could slow down time. I feel like one of these days I’m going to wake up and I’ll be 70 years old and I won’t be able to remember anything that happened.

Well, let’s see what happened this week!

Monday, my kids had the day off from school for MLK Day. We spent the day cleaning, believe it or not. I had both of them clean out their closets and organize their rooms while I cleaned up the rest of the house and some of the basement too. Then I walked 2 miles. Hoo boy, did I need a shower after that!

Tuesday, I had the house to myself, so I made oatmeal in the morning and did two sessions of walking and working on the treadmill. I wrote the bare bones of an opening scene for another new series, but I decided that, even though I’m excited about it, I need to put it on the back burner until summer. What I need to do is keep working on the two series that I planned to publish this year, Miso Cozy and Hikoboshi. Once those are “in the can” (I can’t stop thinking about publishing in either movie or website terms), I can play around with something new. I’m hoping I can get my four books written by summer, so I can play around then.

Wednesday was my birthday! I turned 41 years old and it was a pretty good day. Nothing bad happened, which was nice (I don’t usually have such luck). I left the house in the late morning to go to the gym when my cleaning ladies came. I usually like to fly under the radar for my birthday, but the gym computer announced to everyone it was my birthday when I scanned in! Lol. Truly embarrassing. We ordered fish tacos for dinner and had cupcakes for dessert. A nice way to celebrate my birthday.

Thursday, I got back to work. I walked in the morning. Then I finished up reformatting the Miso Cozy series with Vellum and uploaded all the files. I opened THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP and started on copy editing. Then my whole day went down the tubes when I decided to import new Instafreebie people into MailerLite. This requires a new paragraph…

So I had decided months ago that I was going to switch from MailChimp to MailerLite in order to save myself some money. I knew MailerLite had fewer features and was relatively new, but I was willing to endure a few losses in order to save cash every month. Then the problems started. Briefly, they screwed up a lot of things including sending out emails with broken images, sending emails to people who had unsubscribed, etc. It got to the point that every time I sent an email or did a big import, I was sweating and my anxiety was off the charts OVER AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER. It was too much and I was regretting making the switch. Then MailerLite introduced new Automation workflows which looked cool, but became less and less so the more that I played with them. I couldn’t see who was in the queue of each step of the workflow, and I couldn’t add the workflow to a current list that already had their old autoresponders going. And I couldn’t add old autoresponders anymore either. I had a huge discussion with their tech support over it and they just kept shrugging their shoulders and saying sorry. I would have to recreate everything and put it on a new list. That was the last straw for me. I then spent all of Thursday and Friday moving back to MailChimp. I’d much rather pay more for reliability than deal with more of MailerLite’s growing pains. Once I made the switch a lot of my anxiety disappeared, and I felt like the elephant that had been sitting on my chest got up and walked away.

I’m monitoring my unsubscribes on MailerLite and when they come in, I’m unsubscribing them on MailChimp. Then before I send out my next email, I’ll upload a suppression list of everyone who has unsubscribed to MailChimp and delete my lists from MailerLite. This was a big deal for me. I effectively abandoned people who were in my automation sequence on MailerLite. Those were all people who were getting to know me and my work and buying more books. It means the possibility of lost income. But I can’t maintain two lists. It’s too much work. Another lesson learned.

I looked back on last year and I realized that I was also struggling in January of last year with Kindle Unlimited. What will it be next year?

Anyway, moving on. On Saturday, I worked in the morning, took an Uber into Manhattan and met up with Heidi Tretheway and Diana Peterfreund. This was my first time meeting Diana in the flesh and it was so nice to spend time with both of them. It was funny (and we actually laughed over this) because Diana and I have had rocky times in the past where we argued over everything, but I’ve shifted my attitude in the last year and now we’re much closer. Probably because I’m much happier now to just do my own thing or sit and listen to other people’s opinions. The depression I went through last year and the struggles I’ve had with my career really changed me. So if someone tells you people can’t change, they’re wrong. I certainly have. Diana, Heidi, and I went shopping up by Central Park, went out for ramen for dinner, and then out for drinks and finished up with gelato. It was a fantastic evening!

What else happened this week?

Working and walking is my thing.

Making oatmeal for the week in my Instant Pot!

Birthday fish tacos and drinks.

After dealing with the MailerLite fiasco, I needed a giant drink and some sumo.

My outdoor walks have been gloomy but the geese have stuck around for the winter.

A yummy, big bowl of ramen for dinner last night, and then Heidi, Diana, and I went downtown for drinks. We finished up with gelato (that photo is up there at the top of the post.)

I hope to have some posts up this week on the blog. I’d like to continue with my Japan posts and possibly another essay on walking! My husband leaves tonight for London, so I suspect I’ll get the time to do these things.

Introducing THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP!

If you’re on my mailing list, you already got this information last week! The next book in the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series is on its way! Right now, it’s being read by my trusty team of alpha readers and my critique partner and then it just needs a copy edit, proofread, and then it’s ready to go!

In THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP, things start out really well for Mei and Yasahiro. They’ve worked hard to get Mei’s dream of a tea shop for the elderly up and running. Mei is painting again, helping her mom around the farm, and they’re about to leave on a relief trip to help earthquake victims in the south of Japan. But of course Mei’s luck turns bad and Amanda returns to Yasahiro’s life, ruining pretty much everything.

This was a hard book to write because it really puts my characters through some tough times. The story introduces a few new characters and ushers in a paradigm shift for everyone. I basically turn everything upside down, shake, and see what falls out. While fun, it was also very challenging. Hopefully you all enjoy it.

Mei Yamagawa’s bad luck is almost at an end. Her tea shop is a week away from opening, she and Yasahiro have planned a trip away, and the future is looking bright and hopeful. But when Yasahiro’s ex-fiancée, Amanda, shows up unexpectedly, demanding his time and presence, all of their plans dissolve. Amanda is tough and drives Mei up the wall, so it’s no surprise when Mei tells her to get lost, only for Amanda to be murdered a few hours later. Yasahiro becomes the prime suspect, and Mei must put everything on hold to help free him.

Following Amanda’s past through her digital footprint, Mei uncovers secret lovers, shady business deals, and the biggest secret of all, why Amanda and Yasahiro broke up in the first place. With everyone turning against her and the case under media scrutiny, tracking down the killer becomes an obsession Mei can’t give up. There’s no turning back, though, because solving the murder means getting her life back. Not solving it means losing everything forever.

Want to read the first chapter? Check it out on the THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE OPENS A TEA SHOP page!

I plan for this to be available some time in late February or early March. I AM NOT PUTTING IT UP FOR PREORDER. Something is going wrong at Amazon right now, and I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. I know at least a dozen people who have been ruined when Amazon either delivered a draft file to their readers OR delivered a kindle file that wouldn’t open. All these people did preorders. Amazon changed the preorder system in November and it hasn’t been the same since then. I’m not chancing it with preorders anymore.

Patience Is A Virtue

Pretty much every day, I check up on my favorite Facebook groups to see what people are talking about, wondering what’s new and exciting in self-publishing. Though I don’t feel like a veteran, I’ve been doing this shindig for over three years now. It’s probably fair to say that I’ve been in the self-publishing world for that long or longer since I spent about two years prior to publishing understanding the market and deciding on my career path.

So when I see another post in my Facebook groups that asks “All those making >$5000 per month, what are your top marketing strategies?” I scroll past and don’t answer anymore. I know we all want to succeed, but these questions are usually from people looking for a quick fix and most of them don’t even participate in the group. They’ve been published for all of five minutes, and they want that money to roll in now, NOW! Their impatience is evident in the way that they don’t even bother to search the group for the SAME recent discussion that’s happened about a bajillion times in the last week. If I could tell these people one thing, I’d tell them patience is a virtue.

Here’s an example of how patience pays off in this business. I’ve been working on getting Facebook ads to pay off for almost two years now. It’s been a long process that requires many steps, some taking as long as six months to work. First, I made sure that the Facebook pixel was on my website and working and gathering data. Wait 3 months for that data to grow. Serve ads to people who visited, get them to come back. Wait 3 months. Create an audience that looks like those people and serve a video ad to them. Wait six months for that data to grow. Create an ad to sell to those people that watched those videos… you get the picture. Create and wait. Create and wait. Spend money and wait. And often I don’t see payback for those steps until a year or more later. Yes, I had to be patient. If I had given up the first day, I would never have made it any further towards my goal.

Celebrate every milestone! If you’re patient and keep working, you’ll have plenty to celebrate!

Here’s another example of patience winning out. I wrote a series and knew I wanted it to be four books long. Everyone says that series don’t sell until the third-book mark and since I couldn’t write any faster, I couldn’t publish more than two or three a year which means waiting two or three years to see if my series is going to sell. Right now, my completed series sells steadily. Not a lot, mind you. About $200 per month, if I’m being honest. But that’s steady income if I’m advertising and keeping it alive. I could’ve given up after the first book when it sold maybe ten books a month. I’ve seen tons of authors give up and they made a whole lot more than me! But by being patient and sticking with it, I’ve made a name for myself and now I have a back catalog of books with a completed series for new readers. Patience pays off.

A lot of people want to know what they can do now to make money. They need the money now! But this is not a salaried job. There are no 401k’s. There is no company health insurance. It’s not a steady paycheck. It’s feast or famine, your work doing well based on the whims of a reader’s market. Patience and steady work are the keys to succeeding. Just remember that each and every step you do builds on the last one. That old adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” really does ring true. You don’t build an entire career on one book.

Patience is not just a virtue. It’s the key to your success.

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