Jack of all trades...master of none

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Whoever said that writing is easy cleary didn't know what they were talking about. It's me, i'm the one who said it was easy. I mean really how hard can it be? I have the idea, I have the words and everything else I might need. So what's the problem?

Here's everything I wish I'd known from the begining:

1. Brain overstimulation - this is when your brain passes the threshold for sensory input. My mind becomes overloaded with information and ideas that I practically short circuit. I end up being unable to do anything and becoming unproductive.

2. Writer's block - even with the million ideas floating in my mind, sometimes I blank staring at a laptop. That painful feeling of forgetting your own name let alone the words needed to describe a particular scene.

As if that would be enough but as a self-publisher, which is an entire job in itself, there are a million things I have to do (overdramatisation). Did you know that you have to apply for an ISBN number? BTW if you're just like me and trying to do it all by yourself, you can get an ISBN registered at the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) and hope that they are kind to you becuase the last thing we need right now is a rude librarian *sigh. Keep in mind that there are a lot of stipulations to actually getting one or two of these.

Then you have to find the perfect printers for you. Picking a printers is like finding a psychologist. You have to visit a few hundred ones before finding one that's just right for you (or maybe I'm just crazy. But I'd like to commit to my printers). So far I've emailed five, gotten a response from three and physically visited two. And I'm waiting for a referral for a few more. It's a process and I'm not really fond of admin work.

As if that isn't enough, but as a self-publisher you also become your own marketing agent. All advertisements, promotions and endorsements are run by you and not knowing what to do or how to do what you need to do can be a real deterrent.

All in all I think I can call myself a woman of many talents. I'm multi hatented (many hats + talented = get it? SALTS).

Despite my seeming rant, I quite enjoy doing this. I'm learning a lot, I get to experience a little of many specialities; it's a FUNeral time everyday.

A bit of goodgreatokaygreat news: Gemini is almost 80% complete. If I could just stop adding new paragraphs and altering some key points, I'll be done in no time *smiles.

Closing off ~ don't be afraid to like, comment and recommend to your friends, family, nephews, nieces and even your enemies. Depending on your taste, this blog could be entertaining or toturous.

Lots of Love

L <3

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