Talking to myself…

Insanity’s just another word for thinking outside the box…

This is tough. This whole publishing bit. The writing I’ve got a grip on. The editing I can cope with. The publishing is fiddly but you get to grips with it. The hardest part (and this won’t come as a galloping shock to anyone) is marketing.
It’s not that the marketing is difficult per se, the process is never ending, and there are a bunch of decisions to make. Often as soon as you make one you almost immediately decide it was the wrong choice *deep breath*. But that’s not why it’s difficult, read on…
As a writer I’m used to talking to myself. I do it out loud, in my head, on paper, on the keyboard, pretty much everywhere it can occur it does. But as a writer when I put something on paper, when I make a decision, and talk to myself, I can respond. It’s not as kooky as it sounds. We’ve all had the odd argument with ourselves, talked something out loud just to make sense of it, and as a writer that’s what I do.
Also, part of my job is dialogue, so when I type out something a character would say, or read it aloud to see if it makes sense, I can decide what comes next.
“How you doing today Joe?”
“Muddling through, how about you?”
“Not so great, some nutcase dinged my Ferrari.’
“Didn’t your wife just leave you?”
“Yeah, but replacing her is easy.”
I make it up as I go along – so to speak.
So, when I published ‘XY Factor’ I did a bit of advertising, not loads because I didn’t want it to take over my life – you really could go round the bend with all the options out there. E-books are everywhere, and everyone has one to publish; fair dues.
Then I put ‘Mistake Me Not’ out there and did less advertising.
I’m not wholly concerned with exposure. I don’t care if only five people read my novels. But the difficult thing is knowing when to stop.
I have another novel that I’m editing, and I’m excited about this one, really, really, excited because Hunter Riordan is such a sweetie-pie (though he’d never say it out loud) and I had such fun writing it. Maybe the most fun I’ve had since writing Nick and Bella’s tale (prequel to XY Factor). I want to get my work out there, and I want people to read and enjoy it. Like I say if it’s only five people who care about my characters then I’m happy to write for them. I’ll allot time to ensure deadlines are met and I’ll continue to feed the beast – so to speak.
It’s like this, blogging, it’s actually quite fun, and I hadn’t realised. I didn’t know I would enjoy this. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer so I type fast, and can get my ideas out quickly, that it’s nice to meander without a specific goal in mind – though writing as myself is a novelty, lol. Except if no one reads it, and no one cares about my characters, or has an interest in news or sneak peeks, then my writing may as well have stayed on my hard drive. I wouldn’t have to take time away from writing to publish, blog, advertise etc. and that’s the only thing I miss when I do these things. If I don’t have to do this then I could be writing just for me and immersing myself in the worlds I create.
So, if you care, if you’ve read my work, or are reading it, if you have ideas, comments, questions then please do share them with me. Comment on the blog, or review a piece, hell swing by goodreads and mail me, or Amazon, or Smashwords.
I love writing. I love getting my work out there. But I do wonder at what point talking to myself becomes a problem, lol. Without a hello how do I know anyone’s there… is anyone there?

Thanks for listening,
Scarlett