Warning: Honest post!
I feel I owe it to you guys to get a bit personal about my feelings now [that my novel] Pentecost is out in the world. I’ve blogged the whole first novel journey so far so I thought I should post this while I am still mired in launch week! I will be doing a breakdown of how the marketing went in the next few weeks.
In the video, you will learn:
- How Pentecost made #17 in religious fiction on the US Kindle Store, #96 on UK Thriller Fiction in paperback and #9 in Christian fiction UK. i.e. I made Amazon bestseller lists! It’s great to have the book out there and selling and it’s all happening! I’ve done loads of guest posts so my name is out there. Crazy times! [Update 13 Feb: Pentecost made #4 in Religion & Spirituality -> Fiction and #5 in Kindle -> Religious Fiction and #67 in Genre Fiction as well as #2 in Movers & Shakers]
- BUT I’m also tired and emotional about it all. I did work very hard on the launch and I guess I’m burnt out and the adrenalin high is wearing off.
- Writers have some issues with self-esteem of course, but there is a fear of judgment and criticism. We all worry about this. I have written genre fiction, not literary fiction after all! We just have to carry on writing. It’s to be expected.
- I feel weird about the fact people are reading my thoughts across space and time. Parts of me are in the book (not the violent parts!) You can hear which parts are autobiographical in this interview with Tom Evans.
- The cycle of creativity. There are peaks and troughs and I’m down at the moment. I know it will return again as I have ideas for the next few books but right now, I need to rest and not pressure myself too much.
- On the pressure of needing to get the next book out there! Pentecost is a short book, a fast-paced read and people are finishing it and wanting the next one which I haven’t started writing yet! But writing is a long term experience and I’m aiming to continue writing over time.
- I hope these honest thoughts help you!
This is a reprint from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.