Taking a Break for Brain Chemistry

by Sharon Kayne

May was a month of reckoning for me. It marked the end of the first year since I self-published my debut novel. And what I reckon from it is that I suck as a book marketer. Because here’s the thing: you might assume that good writing is what sells books. It’s not. Good marketing is what sells books. And while I’ve done some marketing in my time for a couple of my past employers, it’s really not my thing. Plus, marketing yourself is totally different from marketing the organization where you work. Totally different and really difficult. Unless, I suppose, you are a narcissist who thinks you are god’s gift. For the tragically self-involved, self-marketing comes naturally. For most sane people, it doesn’t.

Also in May, I completed the first manuscript in a new rom-com series I’ve started. It’s not available for sale yet because I’m still trying to find a publisher for my first rom-com series (for which I’ve already completed three manuscripts). I’m giving the publisher search to the end of this year and if I haven’t found one by then, I’ll self-publish my series… even though I suck at self-marketing.

But that’s not really the point of this blog. The point is that I’m taking a bit of a break. A break from writing and marketing and (hopefully) even thinking about how much I hate marketing and how bad I am at it. What am I going to do with my time? Home improvement. I’m going to paint the kitchen. I’m going to sand down the bathroom door that sticks. And I’m going to install a drip system in several of the planters around the yard. If you’re not into home improvement or DIY stuff, that may sound like torture to you. Like I’m punishing myself for failing as an indie author. But I’m not. I actually like doing this stuff. What’s more, I’m pretty good at it. Plus, when each project is finished I’ll have a tangible accomplishment I can look at and admire—unlike self-publishing, where all I have is some dismal sales data, which is both nontangible and not at all admirable.

I’ll still meet with my critique group and continue my involvement with my other author groups. I’ll still check my email (just in case one of the publishers I’ve queried is interested) and I’ll still read books other people wrote. I’ll also still write my blog—assuming I have something to write about (which, given the projects I’m planning on taking up, will probably be about the joys and frustrations of sanding, painting, and lite plumbing). But I’m no longer going to sit at my computer all day and write novels or market the novels I’ve already written. At least for a while.

It feels both naughty and necessary for me to take a break. Necessary because May was also a bad month for me depression-wise (which, naturally, had a lot to do with the dismal results of the May reckoning). I’ll also be tapering off of an old anti-depressant that doesn’t work and tapering onto a new one, which hopefully will work. I’ll also be trying a new non-pill treatment. Basically, I’ll be busy trying to get my brain to process serotonin properly, so I don’t walk around feeling like hell so much of the time. Because, honestly, marketing one’s book is difficult enough when your brain chemistry is working properly. When your brain chemistry is all screwed up, it’s like walking across the desert in bare feet; it’s not only painful, but kind of amazing that you can make any progress at all. Maybe, with a chemical tuneup, I’ll go back to the marketing work reinvigorated. Anything is possible, so wish me luck.

I post to my blog every Sunday. Follow me on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up for my monthly newsletter (here) to be informed of my new posts. Also, please follow me on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub.

Buy my historical romances, This Restless Sea, The Green Silk Gown, and Variations on a Romance, at Amazon.