Panic Stricken
Right now as I work on the final edit for Bad Karma and write this blog post I am feeling the crunch to get everything done on time. I have been sick with a cold all week and working my day job, while also editing this past week. The cold I have had has slowed me down a lot in my editing and it is causing me to feel panic as I try to finish everything by my dead lines. The negativity I talked about last week has another side to it. That is what I am experiencing now. It’s the fear of not finishing what I have started. The questions that linger in my brain as I try to sleep. Should I be sleeping now or working? Could I have pushed harder to get more done? Am I making excuses for myself?
Panic is just as bad as negativity. It can make you sloppy in your work because you are rushing to finish your drafting or editing. It can cause you to neglect your other commitments in life. It can cause you to find that personal negativity I talked about last week. It is a slippery slope you start walking as it builds up in your gut. I am going to show you what I mean with the thoughts that have been running through my head for the past week.
It all starts with looking at the calendar and seeing I have a month and a half until my second book releases. I am still completing the final edit. I am starting to see how much better the second book is compared to the first one. I start to question should I re-edit book one before book two launches? I look at my to do list I still need to complete and realize I don’t have all the images for my teasers. I don’t have quotes picked out. I also have set up my first author interview with a blogger for October 20th. What was I thinking? Oh and one more thing I still don’t have my cover art or my new author picture taken. Okay, contact cover artist that will only take two minutes to do. What if she says it won’t be done for another two weeks? My heart is racing a mile a minute to the point that it may just beat out of my chest right now and land on my desk in a bloody mess. Okay, maybe a little dramatic on that last part but that’s what it feels like. My breathing is increasing and I’m not even working out. I am sitting at my desk looking at my to-do list. Maybe I need to get up at three-thirty instead of four? Or maybe skip my work out entirely? The last suggestion, my inner voice says that’s not going to happen. Oh God, I am going to fail! Maybe setting up this interview was the wrong thing to do? Oh and I still have to take my kid to tutoring and karate so that’s lost time at the computer. SHIT!!!
So what do you do when that panic sets in? Well the first thing you do is put away the to-do list for a moment and breathe. Sometimes we have to stop and breathe through our problems until our heart rate slows down and the anxiety is a little less. Next you turn to the people who are your support team. Now I have help on my editing. I still have stuff that I need to personally do but I do have help so that takes the anxiety down. It also means I can ask my mom if it’s possible to do a new read through on the first book. The answer is yes. It will be tight but not impossible. Okay, one thing comes off my list. The next is to see how I am going to do this author picture. I had plans on going through a professional photographer and have an appointment with one for the October 18 this month but will it be done in time for the article? I don’t think so. Well, call the best friend Mira and come up with a plan. That comes off the list. Okay not so bad. We can do the photo while my daughter is getting tutored by Bob. Good deal. When will I have time to find the images I need for my teasers plus the lines to go with them. Oh man! Here comes the anxiety again. Guess it’s time for some more deep breathing exercises. Okay, there will be some time available when you get back from tutoring and getting your picture taken. It will be okay. I have to remind myself that it will be okay. It feels like there is not enough hours in my day to get everything done but there is. For the next month, my family will have to give me a little bit of a pass on my time with them because I have a laundry list of things I have to get done. This means I need to have a conversation with them and explain what is happening right now. That conversation will help take some of that anxiety and panic but it won’t stop all of it.
I guess the question is, is there a way to stop all of the panic? I hate to say this but no there isn’t. You’re going to have a little bit of panic when you are getting close to your release date. All you can do is try and control some of the panic and ask for help. But here is the truth about the panic you feel; it has only a small part to do with the list that you still need to complete and more to do with what you are doing. It can be your first book or your tenth and you will still feel that anxiety because this something very personal that you are putting out into the world. Writing is a form of art, which makes it a part of your soul. You are literally taking a piece of you and putting it out for the world to see. Allowing people to read it and judge you. Now I am a person who cares very little what people think of me but this is different. This is me on paper and the idea someone will tear it to shreds is hard to think about but it is also what I signed up for. There will be some that will love what I do and others that will hate it. That’s okay. I have to remind myself that it’s okay if someone says something bad because others are going to love it. I write for me and that is something else I have to remind myself. I also have to tell myself no skipping my workouts. Those workouts are not just for my physical health but helps me manage the stress I feel. I can clear my mind and relax into my yoga or burn some of the aggression I feel while I do kickboxing or hike up a hill. Those workouts help to relieve some of my anxiety and stress.
It’s okay to have a little bit of panic, just don’t let it get out of hand. Talk to your support team. See if they can help with it. Breathe. It sounds crazy but deep breathing exercises help. Go for a walk or if you run, go for a run. Do some yoga or whatever form of exercises you like. It helps to clear your head and push down the panic. And remember if you miss one or even two things on your to do list, it’s okay. It does not mean you failed. Look at the what you have accomplished and stay positive. Learn for the areas where you missed the mark. Failures teach us more lessons than success does. Being an author is hard work. Whether anyone reads what you write or not, be proud of what you did. Don’t let the anxiety win or the negativity. Keep going because it is who you are at your core. Until next time!
Panic is just as bad as negativity. It can make you sloppy in your work because you are rushing to finish your drafting or editing. It can cause you to neglect your other commitments in life. It can cause you to find that personal negativity I talked about last week. It is a slippery slope you start walking as it builds up in your gut. I am going to show you what I mean with the thoughts that have been running through my head for the past week.
It all starts with looking at the calendar and seeing I have a month and a half until my second book releases. I am still completing the final edit. I am starting to see how much better the second book is compared to the first one. I start to question should I re-edit book one before book two launches? I look at my to do list I still need to complete and realize I don’t have all the images for my teasers. I don’t have quotes picked out. I also have set up my first author interview with a blogger for October 20th. What was I thinking? Oh and one more thing I still don’t have my cover art or my new author picture taken. Okay, contact cover artist that will only take two minutes to do. What if she says it won’t be done for another two weeks? My heart is racing a mile a minute to the point that it may just beat out of my chest right now and land on my desk in a bloody mess. Okay, maybe a little dramatic on that last part but that’s what it feels like. My breathing is increasing and I’m not even working out. I am sitting at my desk looking at my to-do list. Maybe I need to get up at three-thirty instead of four? Or maybe skip my work out entirely? The last suggestion, my inner voice says that’s not going to happen. Oh God, I am going to fail! Maybe setting up this interview was the wrong thing to do? Oh and I still have to take my kid to tutoring and karate so that’s lost time at the computer. SHIT!!!
So what do you do when that panic sets in? Well the first thing you do is put away the to-do list for a moment and breathe. Sometimes we have to stop and breathe through our problems until our heart rate slows down and the anxiety is a little less. Next you turn to the people who are your support team. Now I have help on my editing. I still have stuff that I need to personally do but I do have help so that takes the anxiety down. It also means I can ask my mom if it’s possible to do a new read through on the first book. The answer is yes. It will be tight but not impossible. Okay, one thing comes off my list. The next is to see how I am going to do this author picture. I had plans on going through a professional photographer and have an appointment with one for the October 18 this month but will it be done in time for the article? I don’t think so. Well, call the best friend Mira and come up with a plan. That comes off the list. Okay not so bad. We can do the photo while my daughter is getting tutored by Bob. Good deal. When will I have time to find the images I need for my teasers plus the lines to go with them. Oh man! Here comes the anxiety again. Guess it’s time for some more deep breathing exercises. Okay, there will be some time available when you get back from tutoring and getting your picture taken. It will be okay. I have to remind myself that it will be okay. It feels like there is not enough hours in my day to get everything done but there is. For the next month, my family will have to give me a little bit of a pass on my time with them because I have a laundry list of things I have to get done. This means I need to have a conversation with them and explain what is happening right now. That conversation will help take some of that anxiety and panic but it won’t stop all of it.
I guess the question is, is there a way to stop all of the panic? I hate to say this but no there isn’t. You’re going to have a little bit of panic when you are getting close to your release date. All you can do is try and control some of the panic and ask for help. But here is the truth about the panic you feel; it has only a small part to do with the list that you still need to complete and more to do with what you are doing. It can be your first book or your tenth and you will still feel that anxiety because this something very personal that you are putting out into the world. Writing is a form of art, which makes it a part of your soul. You are literally taking a piece of you and putting it out for the world to see. Allowing people to read it and judge you. Now I am a person who cares very little what people think of me but this is different. This is me on paper and the idea someone will tear it to shreds is hard to think about but it is also what I signed up for. There will be some that will love what I do and others that will hate it. That’s okay. I have to remind myself that it’s okay if someone says something bad because others are going to love it. I write for me and that is something else I have to remind myself. I also have to tell myself no skipping my workouts. Those workouts are not just for my physical health but helps me manage the stress I feel. I can clear my mind and relax into my yoga or burn some of the aggression I feel while I do kickboxing or hike up a hill. Those workouts help to relieve some of my anxiety and stress.
It’s okay to have a little bit of panic, just don’t let it get out of hand. Talk to your support team. See if they can help with it. Breathe. It sounds crazy but deep breathing exercises help. Go for a walk or if you run, go for a run. Do some yoga or whatever form of exercises you like. It helps to clear your head and push down the panic. And remember if you miss one or even two things on your to do list, it’s okay. It does not mean you failed. Look at the what you have accomplished and stay positive. Learn for the areas where you missed the mark. Failures teach us more lessons than success does. Being an author is hard work. Whether anyone reads what you write or not, be proud of what you did. Don’t let the anxiety win or the negativity. Keep going because it is who you are at your core. Until next time!
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