I've been very busy, doing interviews and guest posts, as well as going through the holiday weekend and my regular full-time job. To be honest I haven't had time to get anxious about how the book is doing, though I feel like I should be. I do check my Amazon account every day to see how many copies I've sold. It's certainly not a quantity to write home about, but even that is not particularly worrisome. Every single sale is a small but concrete example that a) someone is interested in my work or b) someone cares enough about me to support it whether they like it or not.
I sat down today to write a post about how I'm anxious and insecure about my writing, about how it will be received, about how many copies it will sell, etc. But you know what? I'm honestly not. I'm not worried, at least not right now.
It's not that I don't care. Of course I would like it to be well-received, and it would be nice to make a few bucks, but that not why I'm doing this.
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| Is this the face of contentment? I think it is. |
I don't expect to become a full-time writer, living on the income of my writing. I have a good full-time job with benefits and a pension and I would be foolish to even consider leaving that for anything short of huge truckloads of sweet, sweet literary cash. I have a family that I adore, and that is my number one concern that I will take care of above all else.
I certainly don't expect to win any awards for my work. I'm not making art. I'm having fun, and writing stories that I hope others will find fun, too.
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| This is what I imagine JK Rowling's living room looks like. If there's a chance my children could choke on cash, then I will quit my job. |
I think my book is pretty good. I put a lot of work into it and I'm happy with the result. It's the kind of book that I would enjoy, if I picked it up somewhere. But I also know it's not for everyone, and that's okay too. I just hope I can get it into the hands of the correct audience that will appreciate it.
I am growing comfortable in my position as a writer. I'm not someone struggling to complete their first novel, I've proven I can do that. I'm not desperately submitting my manuscript to agents and publishers, begging for their validation (that's entirely another topic I'm not getting into today). I'm not out there frantically marketing my ass off, living or dying on my next sale. I don't have a long term plan that I have to write X numbers of books in my series in the next two years in order to bump up my Amazon ranking.
I'm just going to try and write the best stuff I can write, the best stuff I want to write. If each book gets one more positive review or one more sale than the previous one, then I will be thrilled. That will be a success for me and all that I can ask for at this point.
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| I don't have time to read all these books, let alone write them. |
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If I had to come up with one thing that caused me a bit of insecurity this week, it was an interview I did with the PodBros Network to promote Hell Comes to Hogtown. For some reason I don't give a damn what I say in the written word, but I do worry a bit about audio interviews and whether or not I come across as an idiot in them. I feel like answering questions out loud leaves me with far more opportunities to stick my foot in my mouth.
Anyway, if you want to check out the interview, the link is below. I always like to listen to interviews with fellow creators to hear how and why they make things. In this one we cover my book, my writing habits, how I got my editor and cover artist as well as some random Canadian and comic book trivia. Check it if you're so inclined:
(Podbros Promotions is also available through iTunes and all your favourite podcatchers, in case you want to listen on the go).
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The details for the book, if you are so inclined to check it out, are below (WARNING: It has A LOT of bad words in it). But first, I will leave you with a quote that I had been considering using when I first sat down to write an antsy, anxious tirade this morning. I think it may prove useful to everyone who is wringing their hands over their writing today.
Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity.
-T. S. Eliot
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Title: Hell Comes to Hogtown
Author: C.D Gallant-King
Genre: Comic Horror
Length: 65,000 words
Cover Art: Jason Salvatori and Max Covers
Editing: Amy Allen-MacLeod
Release Date: July 1, 2016
Fitz is a broke night manager for a grubby comic book store. His only friend Dee is a drugged-out, womanizing pro-wrestler. Together they’re the most pathetic losers on the face of the planet. One night a mysterious, beautiful woman walks into Fitz's shop and he thinks that his luck might finally be changing.
And then he's implicated in a kidnapping and murder plot involving the prime minister's family.
On the run from the cops, Fitz and Dee discover there is something far worse than the RCMP stalking the dark streets of Toronto. They are being hunted by an ancient demon of unspeakable evil with an insatiable taste for blood... or maybe it’s just your run-of-the-mill giant murderous hobo?
Either way, life in prison might be better than whatever the creepy drifter has in store for them…
You can purchase Hell Comes to Hogtown at any of the fine retailers below:
CREATESPACE | SMASHWORDS | GOODREADS
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group here.
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