It Is Fun ... Until It Isn't by Helen Henderson

 

Fire and Redemption by Helen Henderson
Click the title for purchase information

The post title came about while doing the marketing plan for Fire and Redemption. And here is why. Promotion is usually the final step in what can be a series of ups and down. Something being fun until it isn't is a sentiment that can also relate to most of our lives.

There is the excitement of a new project. Often followed by the blind staring at a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) when the words needed to go from point A to point B refuse to coalesce.

After surviving the rapids of being in the writing zone interspersed with portage around slow spots (aka plot holes,) you reach the three-quarter mark. The characters have taken over and you are no longer the creator, but the scribe. Hurray, you are almost done.

New project ... It's is Coming Along ... Almost there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many authors I know, if they could, they would avoid editing. A major, "It isn't fun," moment. Even if we enjoy the mechanical review and polish (which can be fun when you smooth out a rough spot in the prose,) there is a more personal element. Putting your hard work out for critical review can give anyone pause. Even though I have worked as an editor in some of my "day" jobs, the panic never goes away.

Editing is done, triple-quadruple checked. Excitement is at an all time high. Your finger hovers over the "Send" button, then you take the plunge. Great, the worst is out of your hands. It can be fun again. You can play with pretty graphics. But you also have to beg for reviews. The fun disappears.

Some authors love the in-person events, to get out there and meet the readers. Others, prefer to stay behind the scenes. Glad-handing is not fun, until someone who stops by your table who you can really engage. I will be finding out in two weeks whether BookStock 2024 is fun or not. Visitors from three states to the only event within a four-hour drive should make it interesting.

The writing life can be fun ... until it isn't. But it can surprise and delight when it becomes fun again. Stories come and go, characters drop into our lives and leave their mark. For me as an author, I have a responsibility to keep writing for the special readers who come into our lives.

To get Fire and Redemption:  PreOrder.

Or to purchase Fire and Amulet or any of the Windmaster Novels: BWL

 ~Until next month, stay safe and read.   Helen

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.