This post, by Toni Tesori, originally appeared on the Duolit website on 8/28/13.
Life loves to throw curveballs.
As soon as you’re feeling good about how things are moving — WHAM! — something comes along to knock you back.
If you’re part of our mailing list, you’ve read about the personal curveballs Shannon and I were thrown this summer, but I’m sure you’ve experienced similar situations, too.
A change in seasons (“Summer’s here — I’m going outside!”), big life events (“I’m having a baby!”) and just the simple ebb and flow of life all affect our priorities, habits and schedules.
At some point in your writing career, building your fanbase will be the farthest thing from your mind.
When you first waver off track, it might just be for a few days. But then, a week goes by…then a month, and before you know it, it feels harder and harder to get back into marketing your work and easier and easier to extend the break.
Eventually, you realize that you need to get back to promoting your work.
But where do you start?
Falling behind is terrifying. You’re afraid that you’ve done irreparable damage to your writing career by taking a break.
I mean, what if you have to start from — gulp — scratch?!
How to Get Back on Track After Taking a Fanbase-Building Break
First off, simply take a deep breath.
Even if you’ve been out of the game for a few months (or longer!) you won’t have to start promoting your work from scratch, unless you want a clean slate. Regardless of how dire it feels, the fans you’ve gained and the progress you’ve made won’t be negated by the time off.
I don’t want to mislead you — it takes effort to get the ball rolling again, but it won’t be as much as you think.
Are you ready to get started? Put on some relaxing music and let’s work through the five steps for getting back on the book marketing bandwagon!
Click here to read the rest of the post on Duolit.