Hello, my name is Melissa and I’m a procrastinator.
Yes, it’s that dreaded nightmare that holds people back from continuing their plans (or even getting started on something). I admit that I can be a really bad procrastinator. Back in school, if I could put something off, I would usually do it. I always liked to think I just got distracted really easily (which I do, trust me), but I can’t put all of the blame on that. Sometimes, it’s not distractions that hold me back. It’s not having the drive to do it or putting it off to the side so I can “Finish it later.” We all know that never really happens.
Have I been procrastinating finishing my book? Yes. Have I been doing anything about that? No.
A part of it is definitely fear. Fear of what’s next after that last word is written. After the editing is completed and the book is ready to find a publishing home. Self-publishing or not? If I do go self-pub, how am I going to do it? How in the hell am I going to afford it? Those questions race through my mind and makes the procrastination monster rear it’s ugly head.
Tomorrow, I’m making an effort to try and write more. It’s important to get this finished even when I don’t know what I’m doing afterwards. I have to worry about that after I’m finished. Not right now.
I also plan on blogging on here more. I’ve been so busy trying to make jewelry and hair accessories to put in my etsy shop so I can save up money to actually publish my book. I’m still not seeing much success, but I guess it’s all about patience, right? If you want to read all about my jewelry and hair accessory making, you should check out my new blog which talks all about that. 🙂 I also have one that I started on blogspot for all of you on that site to follow. I’m probably going to make the switch to that one soon.
I’ll leave you with this flower headband I just made that’s in my etsy shop.
Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be back to talk about my views on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. Stay tuned!
Hey Melissa,
I’m in the same boat as you. To self-publish or not? With self-publishing, you need so much money to start out (and i’m broke LOL). Good luck with whatever you decide.
Keep smiling,
Yawatta
P.S. I feel ya on procrastinating. One night I pulled an all-nighter at WVU so I could write my 10 page paper describing 3 different American Indian novels I read for my Native American Literature class. The paper was due that morning, and I had knew about it for about a month beforehand. I have a habit of waiting til the last minute for everything–I work best under pressure LOL.
To publish a book, no matter which route you take, it’s going to cost money. That’s just the sad part about it. I’m also in the “broke boat”, so I understand lol. That’s why I’m trying to save up… trying to anyways. 🙂
Procrastination has always been a horrible habit of mine. I remember staying up late in my dorm room trying to finish up a research paper or a book that was due in class the next day. I was an English major so I had a lot of papers and books to read lol. Not good, but I graduated so I guess that’s something!
Hey Melissa,
That’s true about it’s expensive whether you traditionally publish or self-publish. With sending out manuscripts, you need money for toner, paper, postage, etc. That can definitely add up!
Keep smiling,
Yawatta
I would stay away from the vanity presses that are in business to take your money. Smashword and Amazon are lower cost alternatives. Even Penguin is starting Book Country which, if it hasn’t already, will offer a low-cost self publishing route.
I’ve noticed that most of the indie pub places that do contact me to publish my book are quite expensive. One of them had a basic package that was over 600 dollars which left me reeling. I keep hearing Amazon is the best way to go, so we’ll see. 🙂 Thanks for the other suggestions! I’ll look them up.
Never go for vanity press, I don’t know about their services, but I heard once your book is finally published, it’s so ridiculously expensive that no one would buy it. If you do it smart, you can self publish at a relatively low cost. For my first book, I spent under 500$ on publishing costs and that included a cover, spine and back, editing (just proofing though, for the bulk of editing I relied on beta readers,) bookmarks, physical books (from createspace) and I think a few other things. Now a days you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to self publish. I can give you recommendations to who I used if you decide to self publish.
Thanks. I’ve pretty much decided that the best bet for me would be to self-publish. Researching vanity presses earlier in the book writing process really turned me off from them. My first book is like my baby so.. I want to be there every step of the way and make sure it’s done the way I want it to. 🙂 I would love some recommendations! That would be great.
That’s the nice thing about self publishing. You have control of every step.
My cover artist was Keary Taylor http://www.wix.com/klandon771/indiecoverdesigns#!pricing
and I used Hazard Editing
http://hazardediting.blogspot.com/
The procrastination is terrible on this end, too. Must be something in the air. Your earrings make me want to go get my ears repierced! I love the guitar pick ones.
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Melissa,
I got all those same worries. I am sitting here right now finding a hundred reasons not to write, but in the end, the only way I feel better is if I do write and write a lot.
Tim