Taking a Break

…I know, I know. I HAVE been taking a break here. A big one, and if this is the only place you follow me, this will be a confusing post. The blog has been quiet because it doesn’t seem like this is the best way to communicate with readers anymore. I’m not sure anyone reads posts here, which means my words could be better used in books.

I have limited brain for Making Teh Werds, guys.

But I’m thinking about a far larger break from the world of Internet. It’s the perfect time for it. I’m between projects under my own name, and busy breaking ground on the project that’s due to my Bound trilogy editor in the new year. I’ve just released the second book in my pen name series, but I’m not planning any big promotion until the third book comes out in the fall.

I have my reader group on Facebook, but they don’t need me there to babysit them all the time. They’re a good crew.

…and honestly, aside from that group and book promotion needs, I’m beginning to realize that social media doesn’t do a lot for me. In fact, it’s become a constant source of stress.

That’s not to say social media is bad. Not by any means. Just that I’m realizing that I need to step away so I can keep it at arm’s length when I come back. I need to settle into my own life. I need to be bored enough that my work turns into play again, and I need to get out of the habit of framing experiences into photos or posts or tweets. I need to write without worrying that I should be marketing, and I need to reassess the f*ucks I really want to give about this business (to badly paraphrase Mark Manson*).

I need to turn my back on the courses I’ve signed up for on HOW TO SELL THOUSANDS OF PRE-ORDERS and HOW TO CRANK OUT SO MANY BOOKS YOU CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER WRITING THEM and take a few deep breaths so I can decide whether those are things I really want–and more to the point, whether I really want to sacrifice what it would cost me to do those things. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with those goals. I just want a little space to decide whether they’re right for me. Maybe those are goals I want to embrace. But maybe I want to define success differently.

The point is that there’s so much noise out there that I don’t even know what I want and what I’m being told I should want, and I’m not good at moderating my exposure.

I get overwhelmed easily. I’m choosing not to drown.

So I’m going to give myself one more week before the break. I’ll wrap up my most recent paperback giveaway on Instagram (which ends soon, if you want to check it out). I’m going to start another one just for my wonderful newsletter subscribers, because checking email is a thing I need to do anyway. I might do another post here and on Facebook showing off the newly formatted versions of the books in the Bound trilogy. Might even share some pictures from recent trips around Newfoundland.

And then I’m going to try to disappear for a bit.

I’m going to check in with my reader group once in a while.

I’ll check for messages on Instagram and Facebook Messenger once in a while, but they’re not going to be daily things (and yes, I can already feel the FOMO).

I’ve turned off messaging to my Facebook page (which has been glitchy and ineffective for months, leading to missed messages and incredible frustration).

My pen name may have a few things she needs to do, but as for me… I think I’m just about ready for a break.

And I feel really good about it.

All of this is to say that I’m fine, I’ll be back, I hope to be feeling much brighter and shinier when I return, and if you need to reach me, please email. I’ll still be checking that every few days at least, and it’s always the best way to reach me.

❤

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*I may have recommended “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” already. If I haven’t before, I am now. I really enjoyed the audiobook–so much, in fact, that I bought the paperback so I could re-read, highlight, and lend it out.