Recapping Release Month + Giveaway

I can’t believe it’s been one month since Someplace Familiar released into the world! A special thank you to everyone who has shown support and encouragement for the book these last few months. It’s been a whirlwind full of some unexpected lessons, surprises, blessings, and more. I thought it would be fun to share a few highlights recapping my first book release month!

1. It’s Exhausting! I am an introvert who manages quite well in the world. But I honestly recall release day being the most exhausting day I’ve had in a long time. I felt “on” from sun up to way past sun down. I wanted to thank everyone who left comments, sent notes, posted early reviews, etc. A fellow author had suggested I take release day off from work and I wish I’d listened to her! Some days, I still feel like I’m recovering a whole month later.
2. The Emotional Highs Are Unlike Anything Else! This may sound like an exaggeration to many of you, but I can say with confidence that seeing my “book baby” out in the real world compares only to my wedding day and the day my daughter was born. From start to finish, the book took more than three and a half years to get published. That’s longer than my husband and I dated and, of course, longer than my pregnancy. So maybe not such a long reach to comparing the three experiences. And, oh the tears, when I first held the book in my hands. Emotional indeed.
3. Selling Books Feels Like Self-Promotion. Though I am marketing my book, readers are looking to connect with me, the author, too. So, in many ways, book marketing is self promotion. And that is SO unnatural for me. I’ve had to really push myself on this. I mean, it feels so presumptuous to ask complete strangers to spend their hard-earned money on MY book. Not that I don’t value the time, energy, and talent I feel I’ve put into the book. I guess another way to say it would be I get sick of talking about me and the book. (Probably not a good marketing tactic to tell you that! LOL)
4. I’m Not a Businesswoman. This self-publishing experience has made it very clear to me that I do not have the gift of running a business of any sort. There’s so much to keep track of and remember. It’s all important, so I do it as best I can. But, man, I just want to write and forget all the numbers and charts and percentages and so forth. Thank goodness my husband can share some of his skills with me.
5. It’s a Second Career. Finally, despite all of the challenges, learning curves, long hours, etc. I can’t wait to do it all over again. Next up is writing book two in the Laurel Cove Romance Series! Not being deterred by the hard work of Someplace Familiar proves to me that this writing thing is really a second career for me. I’m in it for the long haul with no other choice but to write. It’s in me, it’s what I do. And I thank God for the opportunity to partner with Him again!

Let’s celebrate the one-month birthday with a giveaway!

Head over to my Facebook Page to enter.