Pandemic Unproductivity

I don't need to say that the past two years have been stressful for everyone. With working from home, virtual learning, COVID testing, ailing friends and relatives, mask mandates, and vaccines, the past 24 months will probably go into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most bizarre in recent history.

Since I've worked from home for the last twenty years, I can't use that as an excuse for the change in my work habits. Neither can I blame my unproductive state on my kids switching from in-person learning to virtual because my kids are grown and even some of their kids are grown. 

Being confined to the house has affected my normally structured and dedicated work habits. Pre-pandemic, I used to go out to write at a coffeehouse three days a week. There's something about working in public that stimulates my muse. Prior to March 2020, I wrote four pages or more a day. Since January 2020, I average 1-1/2 or 2 pages daily, which is really poor for me. Recently, I've started venturing out to those places that aren't crowded.

In 2020 I only released one novel, We Are Family, which I wrote many years ago but never published. Twenty-twenty-one was the same. Sebastian, the first book in my new paranormal romance series was my only release. Now I'm two chapters from the end of Ephraim, Book Two in The Champions Series, my first attempt at writing paranormal romance.

Becoming a widow and living alone has caused me to examine my life in general and my daily habits specifically. I love writing, and I need to write to occupy my mind and give myself something productive to do but I can't keep up the same schedule I've maintained for the past eleven years. Thankfully, being an indie author allows me to set my own deadlines. 

The constant changes in the publishing business have demanded that authors keep coming up with new ways to promote our work. What worked fabulously two years ago doesn't anymore. TikTok has taken first place among the social networks when it comes to book promotion, and it has a steep learning curve. Since I'm not the kind of person who hates being on camera, I'm learning what works on TikTok without my having to be in the videos. Here's an example of what I mean.

All that being said, I need to vent, and I want to return to posting more here on topics that relate to writing, indie publishing and romance.