Trying to keep cool.
How do you keep from losing it when you are supposed to be acting cool as a cucumber? Waiting is something I’ve never done well. I learned years ago not to waste wishes on patience because I would just be faced with more opportunities to be patient. When I have a book ready and I’m waiting I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for my phone to buzz, I obsessively check my emails and keep track of when I followed up with my beta readers last. It’s tough to be anxious and not come across like a crazy person. Trust me, I’m am speaking from experience.
How to be patient?
If you Google how to be patient the first thing you will find is a post telling you to “Make yourself wait.” Well gee why didn’t I think of that? I wish it was easier done then said. Personally I try to find distractions. Reading it a good one, writing it another. I’m currently working on a short story that will be provided free to people who are subscribed to our newsletter. However, even with things that need to be done, and things I simply want to do, my distractions don’t even help sometimes.
Setting the right expectations up front is probably a much better way of handling this. However for me I am too scared to share with people my anxieties over my books. Well, I’m scared to share them with people in real life. All my internet friends seem to know the whole story. But how weird is that? Why is it that so many of us are are willing to be our true selves online but not in real life? I guess that’s a conversation for another day.
New commitments to myself…
I’m making some new commitments today. I’d call them resolutions but let’s be honest, I’ve never fulfilled one of those in my life. Instead I’m putting them here, in writing, on my blog. I will have absolutely no excuse but to follow them, or at least not one I can think of right now.
- I will write my daily commitments in my fancy, overpriced planner every morning.
- I will finish edits on Unbelievable and get it ready for release.
- I will write daily, even if it’s only a couple 100 words.
- I will read, I will read, I will read. Because I love it.
Well there it is folks! I’ll let you know how it goes. Doesn’t look too bad but when life kicks into gear I want to stay focused on things I can control, since waiting is something I can’t control.
Happy Reading.
-Nikki Rome