Taking Stock

a personal take on the new year

Stock at New Year

It was a quiet Christmas after all the hustle and bustle of getting Pink Granite “out there”. I am not sure it is “out there” really but this second self-publishing experience has made me draw comparisons with the first. (As readers will know, the first was Redhair and Daffodil Friend and its accompanying The Brinepoint Colouring Book.)

Not wanting to join the droves of author-preneurs with far more experience than I, I do have a few observations to offer with regard to my self-publishing journey so far.

Try not to run before you can walk.
Follow your instinct.
Don’t waste money.
Keep the faith.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Sift advice.
Come home to yourself.

Walking

If you don’t walk you can’t notice. If you don’t walk you may not be present. If you don’t walk you may run out of breath and give up. I am walking in this new space. It doesn’t feel like the rush of youth and the need to prove. The years of experience help me to just walk. Walking is movement and movement triggers presence. Walking is an essential part of my process.

Instinct

This has always worked for me and when it hasn’t it has taught me something salutary. I apply instinct with knowledge often because for me, knowledge is built on instinct so I trust it. Instinct lives in my gut. I apply gut instinct each time I remember to, each time I feel it. It’s part of stopping, receiving my condition and then moving…on. Instinct for me is about being true to myself and my inner voice. It is an essential part of my process.

Money

I could spend a fortune paying people to do things for me. I have learned that doesn’t always work and to do it yourself saves a lot of heartache and pennies. For the most part of my working life I have been freelance and so I have never been confident of a fixed wage. It is only these past two years of receiving my pension that I feel released from that anxiety. There is a regularity to the pension income. The book income retains the traits of my freelance life. Fearing not having enough to get by on, though unreasonable of me, nevertheless fuelled anxiety in those wholly freelance days. Nowadays I look long and hard at those who want me to give them my hard earned resources. I take gifting, compensating, bartering and paying very seriously. “Don’t leave the table until you are finished” and “don’t waste your food” sit deeply embedded in my mind and body fuelling how I make decisions especially around book marketing and publicity. Money to me is a means to an end and you have to have enough to make that end.

The Faith

I was once a born again Christian, zealous and passionate. I applied that fervour to my short political phase too, and now it sits more lightly in this new bookish space. Once you have placed your cards on the table though, it doesn’t matter if you change your mind. These days I have swapped the zeal for gratitude, compassion and human ‘being’. I often get it wrong but when I do I don’t feel so bad. To keep the faith is to remain faithful to yourself, to your inner voice and your calling. I know this from the old days but these newer days it’s much easier and I am easier on myself. Faith to me is an essential part of life. With no faith I would see no point. I am not talking about religious faith here, I am talking about faith in nature and humanity.

Comparisons

When I paid for a manuscript report to help me with the marketing and promotion of Pink Granite, the report suggested some comparative titles that I could use to draw attention to my book. I have been reading those titles that came up for Pink Granite and I was surprised. They were longer, more substantial and one has the same title as an intensive series of theatre pieces I have been working on since 2010. This is useful. It compares the work. If I look at others and compare their achievements with my own, it’s unfair on myself. I cannot possibly be like A.Nother. I am me. Letting go of that kind of expectation is proving to be liberating. To compare or not compare, that is the question.

Advice

There’s a lot out there. The other day I had a question during my silent time: “Who is pulling the wool over your eyes?” This is a good question with regard to getting advice. I need lots of advice at the beginning of a fourth career phase as an independent author and self-publisher. I could spend a fortune paying for advice. I could cultivate a meaningful, scrutinizing relationship with AI. I could reassess all the subscriptions I have – paid and complementary. I could listen endlessly to friends and relations. At the end of the day, I will trust my instinct and always consider the money whilst watching the power of comparison. And I will walk.

Coming Home

On returning to myself as a walking human being, clouds and thought pass through but essentially if I am home with myself I am ok,

One cloud thought that passes by daily is the real stock take. Here I apologise for the plain sight advertisement (yet again). But I am working on integrating in a conscious way daily life and work and being. So…..

Practically Taking Stock

My current stock of books is

The Brinepoint Colouring Book 24 copies
Bundles Redhair and Daffodil Friend with The Brinepoint Colouring Book 25 copies
Pink Granite 15 copies

So far since beginning this journey, as far as I can tell, I have put out into the world – gifted, paid for, complementary:

Redhair and Daffodil Friend 236 copies
The Brinepoint Colouring Book 35 copies
Pink Granite 60 copies

If you are reading this and would like to help me move towards topping up my stock ask here to be on my mailing list.

If you are already in receipt of my occasional newsletters and count yourself in those stock numbers above, a huge thank you!

If you missed the information, hover over the thumbnails and the links to my direct sales pages are there.

Thank you for reading.