Sometimes HE works in mysterious ways

Once again Happy Thanksgiving to all of you looking in from the US and the standard hello for everyone else in the world.


I'm not going to get religious on you this morning. I won't. I won't mainly because I am nowhere near where I need to be with HIM. But I will say this: I was feeling about as low as I could feel about writing and publishing over the past seven days or so. Those of you who tune into my blog regularly know about my struggles with overcoming what writers term as the Critical Voice. This voice tells you that what you are writing is crap as you put it down. It tells you that no one will read it once you publish it. It tells you that if they did they didn't like it. And it never fails to tell you that you are wasting your and everyone else's time.  


I've been locked in a battle with it my entire adult life. I've let it steal years of productivity from me. And even after I made a small come back with the publishing of the first three episodes of Where are our Children-it jumped on me big time last week.


I managed to get a chapter done yesterday.


I think what I saw this morning though was far more important.


So far, Children only seemed to me to be getting downloads at Smashwords only. My two sports articles continue to do well at I tunes. In fact they get nearly double digit downloads over there everyday. People are right down the middle on whether they agree with me in my assessments on each subject but that is okay. My only point is to present my argument well. Those downloads tell me that I did that much right.


Children, on the other hand, has done nothing on I Tunes. maybe that will change. Ultimately, fiction is my first love. It is eventually what I am banking on for long term success. There are non fiction projects ahead but fiction will either make what I do here, or break what I do here. I don't have anything selling on Amazon, Google Play wasn't showing downloads and Kobo is in the single digits in downloads period since I started publishing there last month.


But like I said in an earlier passage, I think I saw something this morning that was very important to me.


I looked at my profile at Goodreads. That's nothing new. I look at it and all my other info across the net daily. But HE led me to look as an item I had never noticed before when I looked at the site from my phone.


Anyone who has been to the author's sections there will notice that if any of their work has been recommended that the data for that book is there next to all your other stuff. Well, all six of my writings are there. I always knew that. I always appreciated that fact. What I didn't see is HOW MANY times they've been recommended. The children series is getting nearly 2 recommends a day since their publication. Rapture has more recommendation than it does downloads on Smashwords. I wondered how that was possible.


I have to remember that Smashwords is a global distributor. My (and everyone else who publishes there) stuff is going globally. It is in libraries and at sites that I have never heard of. My trade paperback editions (especially of my first three works) is also selling SOMEWHERE.


Boy, did I need this. I really needed the assurance that someone...somewhere is reading my stuff. It means so much to me and I thank you all.


I know if I'm completely past my crisis but I feel a lot better.


So much better that I'm off to complete another chapter of Past Prologue when I'm done here.


Like I said at the beginning: I'm not going to get religious on you this morning. I won't. I won't mainly because I am nowhere near where I need to be with HIM. But I will say this: I was feeling about as low as I could feel about writing and publishing over the past seven days or so.


Sometimes He does work in mysterious ways.

A Crisis of Confidence and Character

Hey guys.


I missed a posting for the first time since I've been back. Some out there may be happy about that. (grin)


I told myself that I would not post to this blog again until I wrote something. Well, I did just that. I  finished another chapter of Past Prologue today. I hadn't written in five days or so. I am truly going through a crisis of confidence and character.


My downloads are really down at Smashwords. I published to Google Books the other day and either are getting no response there are I am not understanding how to upload their stats reports. I really haven't been the same writer since Rapture debuted with NO sales during the 24 to 30 hours I had it up.


I'm going through what a lot of writers do at this point. We expect huge returns when we haven't put in a lot of investment at this point. I'm human, guys. Be patient. Stay with me.


I'm pressing forward. I'm trying to remember that I'm doing something very special. If I don't sell one book or nothing is downloaded that has my name on it, I am doing something very special.


Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I hope that each and EVERY one of you has a wonderful, safe and prosperous holiday. I'm going to try and do so very well.


And then I'm going to continue to battle this crisis of confidence and character.


And press on and write another chapter.    

A Brave New World

Wow.


I was pleasantly surprised how well the uploading process to Goggle Books went. All 6 of my works are there for a free download. I'm interested in how well my stuff will do over there.


I'm also anxious to see how Children did at I Books after I moved it from category to another.


Once again it looks as if Life and the Job will stop any progress I wanted to make in getting restarted on Past Prologue. I absolutely have to sleep to make during the day to make it through my nights at work.


Maybe I'll try some editing of the chapters I do have complete.


A brave new world maybe lies ahead. I just wish I could get some things out of my way. 

A Not so Sad Sunday

A couple of constants retained their status quo on this rainy Sunday.


My Jags continue to stink and I haven't added any new words to Past Prologue.


I do, however, see sunlight on the horizon on the latter part. I do expect to return to new writing tomorrow.


I did get some things done on the publishing front.


I got all 6 books uploaded to Google Play/Books. The problem is (as of this writing) I don't know if I did it successfully or not. The process wasn't as difficult or as time consuming as I thought It would be. I had some advantages over some other folks that may have had issues with it: Smashwords is a bitch to upload to when you first start this. That forces you to have more patients for anything else you try to tackle. I looked around a bit and got help from others who had struggled with Google before I got there so that aided me as well. I use d my epub of each book from Smashwords as well for my content upload. Again, I will have to wait to see if it worked, but that helped with this process.


The whole point of this exercise was to get my books into as many reader's hands as I can. As this point I have made the decision to be READ. And Google Books was too big an outlet to continue to ignore.


In speaking of being read...I changed my settings for Where are Our Children. I want to test a theory of mine when it comes to the I Book store. My fiction as done NOTHING there. And I do mean nothing. The two sports themed books do VERY well. They have double digit downloads nearly every day, especially on weekdays. I wanted to try something to give my serial novel a boost there. I believe, I certainty could be wrong, but I believe it is more about lack of visibility than anything else. I'm trying to change that and have little to lose. My fiction does VERY well at Smashwords. I would like to see at least some of this translate to I Books as well.


I'll check back with you guys tomorrow hopefully with good news on both the writing and publishing front.


But today was a not so bad Sunday after all.      

The most versatile of us

Im posting from my phone so bare with. Still nothing new written though i will get vack 2 it 2morrow or mon. 

At least im showing some versatality. Check in 2 morrow.

Weekend Warrior

I return to work 2night and that is both good and bad.


The good...well, it's work. That means I am drawing a paycheck and taking care of the family.


The bad...well, it's work. That means elevated stress levels and aggravation.


Also good, I come up with boat loads of ideas when I'm there. Maybe I'll come up with something to get me out of the rut I'm in right now.


Also bad...well, see line 3.


Anyway, I have been investigating Google Books. I'm curious. I may try to upload my present collection into it this weekend to see if I can get past it's interface.


I guess I'll be a weekend warrior.

Better than nothing at all

A late posting is better than nothing at all.


I did not get anything done today as I am in a rut.


I did look at google books as a means another means of distribution but I am reading horror stories about their uploading system. I read it makes Smashwords meat grinder look like child's play.


I have nothing else much to add.


A late, small posting is better than nothing at all.