Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Hello, good people of the blogosphere! Long time no speak, eh? Well, I've moved, and my house is finally done (it's been done for a minute), but the bigger thing here is: I'm starting to nail down a routine, and it's feeling pretty darn good. All I have left is a minor surgery 11/12, and I'll be back off to the races. I miss my workouts, ya know?

 Today's title is a word that means fear of long words. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the second-longest word in the English language. There's your bit of trivia for today (if you can pronounce it, that is).

I've been super busy with work, and I have a new author on board for editing. He'll be releasing his book soon. I'll be sure to share it with you all. It's about addiction and overcoming or succumbing to it. I know it sure pulled at my heartstrings.

That's neither here nor there. I've missed you all, and Monday, I plan to drop that book of mine in its entirety. Yes, I'm still working on that novel I've been promising (psychological thriller in the PPSK series), and you'll get it once I'm done. I'm not rushing it.

I've also finally finished the edit for Recipe for Redemption - Izzy's Story. YAY! It's off to the proofreader for a final looksee. We'll be ready to publish by the beginning of the year, I'm pretty sure. That one is women's fiction, and the first in the series was SO FUN. I have ONE more recipe to finish working out for this book, but I think you'll all salivate over the ones I've completed.

Who doesn't love a cookie?

My day job has been busy, but I'm nearly caught up with that from the move, so we're getting there. I may actually encourage my newest author to start blogging, and if he does that, I'll point you in that direction, too. How fun!

Tricia Copeland has another romance book coming next year under her pen name Maria Jane. That will be hitting my desk on the first of December.

I've also read some really great books, and some serious stinkers lately. One author who hasn't let me down, yet, is Alex Aster. If you haven't read her stuff, do it! 

Bigger news: I believe IBGW is going to start hiring new editors soon. If you're interested, keep an eye on my blog here for instructions on applying. We're a great team, but we're down to just three people, and one of us only does proofreading. *gasp* It's become a struggle, and nobody wants to worry about who'll be available for a proof if they edit.

Anyway, I'm rambling, and I don't want this to get too long. Wonder if there's a word for fear of long blog posts...? :) I'll see you guys next week (we'll say Monday, but I'm not promising Monday) with that book.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed catching up with me as much as I've enjoyed writing this.

That's all for today, folks! 

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo 

Worth by Numbers and Stars

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today, I'm just talking. No need for pen and paper, but you might want to bring your inner-voices to the party. If you're ready, let's get going!

So, I saw this image floating around on Facebook this morning, and I shared it because the message was so powerful (see it here).

But, as everything in life, it got me thinking about the author world and how we use numbers to measure our worth. When our books are selling well, we think: Wow, I must be a great author. So many people want to read what I've written!

Then comes the dreaded drop in sales or the horrific one star review.

Just like that, our worth seems to fly out the window on the wings of a fiery demon. We fall into a pit of despair, wondering who we were kidding when we thought we could write a book.

Now, I want you to look at those last five words in the sentence above: "We could write a book."

Rethink your stance right now.

You did write a book. Countless hours of your life were spent writing, editing, re-editing, editing again, formatting, and marketing that book.

Countless hours.

There are so many people in the world who say, "I have a book in me."

Do you know the difference between you and them?

You didn't talk about how you can write a book; you did it. Blood, sweat, and tears flowed from you to the page. Not once did you stop, throw down your pen/close your laptop, and give up.

No. You kept going, pushing through the doubt demons and naysayers. You published that book.

Fast-forward fifty years into the future. Your children are grown and have a couple of kids. Out there, in the book world, your words are still going strong. Even if no one is buying them, they're still existing.

It's your legacy. You've made yourself a little bit immortal. Even if people hate your story, they haven't written a book, and they won't live through the pages forever. Take every opinion with a grain of salt.

So, I leave you with this:

Don't measure yourself against your sales numbers or star ratings. Put it all in a new perspective, and remember, you did it when others wouldn't. Even if you feel like crap about it today, it will still be there tomorrow, ready to carry your words through the millenniums. Be proud (it's okay to celebrate your own accomplishments--that doesn't mean you're narcissistic).

Scream into the ether just once today:

"I am f*ck*ng AWESOME! I wrote a book!"

If you're feeling froggy, I also encourage you to jump like the woman in the image above.

Huge thanks to Chelsea Starling for giving me the first part of that battle cry!

How do you get over the measuring of yourself? Plan to scream today? Tell me about it.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo