When Writing Overwhelms You

I used to daydream about being an novelist. How glamorous it sounded. Novelist have the BEST job ever! I envisioned a blazing fire, a hot cup of cocoa, and a cozy chair. Then I began writing a novel. Eh, sometimes it was cozy, but most days were spent in my office chair banging away at the keyboard...deleting...rewriting and trying to do it all while my kiddos were napping. My sink filled with dishes, my bed was unmade because when the small ones went to sleep I needed to write...if I ever wanted to get the book finished.

Well, that seemed like a daunting task, but it was enjoyable. I loved it, I found it to be a stress relief. But now I feel overwhelmed. I need to publish this work of love I've been slaving over for three years.

As writers we have many different avenues to take with out writing, self-publishing, traditional publishing, hybrid...whichever way you choose you cannot just sit back and have a million copies sold without doing anything.

So what can you do when the billion steps to "simply" publishing the dang book start to make your dream of happy readers jumping into your story fade to nothing?

I suggest take a step back from all the "stuff". I suggest writing! Say what? Yes, as writers what we love to do is write...correct? So, take a break from email lists, cover design, editing, formatting...take a breath and keep writing. Maybe start a new project.

Will you have to face these daunting tasks eventually...unfortunately yes. Even if you're in the big five publishing you're going to have to help out with the promoting. It's just part of the business nowadays.

Keep going. Don't let these little steps bring you down. I am stuck in that place right now...I'm about to release my series The Lost Relics, and I am blown away by all the work I have to do. So I took a break and wrote this blog post to hopefully encourage those who are in the same sludgey, overwhelming position of getting their work of art in front of the public's eye!

Good luck! I'd love to hear your thoughts on overcoming the mountain of work writers have to go through! What do you do?

Happy Writing