Hey! How are you today? What have you been up to? Awesome stuff, I hope.
Personally, I'm excited that winter is now over. The days are warming up and they're also getting longer. That makes me smile. Also, daylight savings is almost here...
Anyway, I've been a little distracted since my husband went back to work after our fantastic break together because I found myself in another shitty publishing situation. This time, I felt trapped. Totally stuck. Unable to concentrate on anything for too long because I was anxious and angry. Discussing everything with my husband, reading, and sorting stuff helped keep my mind at ease long enough to figure out a way to deal with it. But you know what ultimately helped me overcome this latest cycle of anxiety? Getting the freedom to walk away from the contract.
As much as I love getting published and sharing my stories with readers, I'd much rather keep my novels on my hard drive than tie them up with people who claim to be running a business without having an actual business plan. And yes, I'm being vague, but it's for my own mental health and because I've reached The End of this pathetic saga.
Being free from a stale contract, one that filled me with disappointment and left me disillusioned for so long that I lost faith in my own book, has changed my state of mind completely.
My head is now clear and I feel like I can breathe properly again. I even started writing several stories during the last few weeks and hope that I can finish some/all of them now that this particular situation is over. As for the homeless book, I already changed the title (something I do to get rid of some of that sour taste from the experience) and I'm glad it's back in my possession. Where it belongs.
I'm sick and tired of sharing my stories with companies who don't appreciate them, and have zero respect for me. After everything I've been through, it's no secret that I've lost trust and confidence in indie publishers. I'm scared to submit, have too many trust issues, and I have many reasons to feel this way.
At this stage, I don't know what I'll do with the many, many unpublished stories I have, but I know that I'll keep writing. For me, it's always about the writing. That shitty situations temporarily derail me doesn't mean they stop me from doing what I love to do the most.
I'll keep dreaming. Keep writing. Keep spending time with characters who have a story to tell. No amount of disrespect or disregard is going to change that. For some reason, people think it's okay to disrespect authors, but it's not.
One last thing, just remember that reading and re-reading contracts before and after signing can help you more than you probably think.
So, there you have it. This is my latest update. I love having a blog because it helps purge all the good and bad stuff from my head.
Have an awesome day!
PS. This post is not about any of the publishers who have already published my books. Actually, none of these words are directed at them because they've all treated me very fairly.
PPS. We watched K-POP DEMON HUNTERS the other night & loved it! What a great and emotional ride it turned out to be. It's also fun and full of catchy tunes.
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