Launching A Travel Blog, Publishing A Novel, Project Overwhelm and Spring Fatigue

Spring is here my fellow writing addicts! That means more sun, happiness and unfortunately extra tiredness and sleepiness. I’ve taken to eating more healthily, moving more and getting some herbal-based supplements that are supposed to boost the immune system.

In the meantime, I’ve tried to launch my travel blog and my novel as an e-book in addition to my other writerly duties such as pitching, writing, marketing, researching and so on.

I say “try to,” because launching a new blog has been a step well beyond my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong; I love blogging. I love WordPress. I’ve been doing it for a long time now, and I believe I have gotten good at it.

But there is something stressful about starting over with a new blog, picking a theme – which I argue is one of the most frustrating things about blogging – and getting an audience to a blog you are proud to show people.

I’m still working on the design, but the first post is ready for consumption and sharing: How to Financially Survive a Trip to Oslo

And finding a theme that suits your needs, expectations and wants is no easy feat, as I wrote about it here. The fonts change, level of flexibility and options differ. Whether you are going for a free or premium theme, I wish you luck.

(This blog runs on the premium Studio Press’ Focus Pro – aff. link.)

But none of that compares to the challenge of publishing your novel. From deciding on whether you are going to work with individuals or a company, from deciding on whether you’ll format yourself or hand it over to a professional, from downright infuriating copyright laws to marketing, it is mission impossible for writers. Or it has been for this writer.

I decided to go with a self-publishing company that came highly recommended to me. And while they have had their pros, I continue to be disappointed by their after-publishing customer service. I talked about my self-publishing woes in this post.

If you try to buy my book but can’t, comment and I’ll try to find a link or a solution that works for your company.

My novel is currently only available digitally. You can check it out on Amazon (aff. link).

About the novel:

Making A Difference (M.A.D.) is a contemporary romantic comedy with some drama attached. It’s set in New York, and this is the plot summary without spoilers:

Everybody loves Jay. He’s that humanitarian PR guru who doesn’t live like the rich and runs a profitable company so that he’ll have more resources to help people. He defines himself through how much he and his company make a positive impact.

He’s engaged to a gorgeous CEO whose purse collection could feed the homeless in NYC, but he’s only human.

If anyone notices the irony, it’s Jay’s new partner Zoe. 10 years older than her, Jay is the reason she studied PR. So when Jay’s business partner/best friend takes a less pressuring position, she’s delighted to return to the firm she interned for.

But Jay and Zoe have a big secret: 5 years ago, they fell hard for each other. She was a student at NYU where Jay was a lecturer. To Jay, his legacy was everything, and he’d never risk his reputation by dating a student. Moreover, he’d die before he let Zoe ruin her career. She is furious he doesn’t take the risk for them. She leaves the country to get over him.

And now she’s happily coupled-up with lovely writer Colin.
Colin detests Jay, and he doesn’t even know the entire story. Zoe’s upset Colin’s turning into a whiny jerk, but he’s the first guy she has felt strongly for in a long time.

Jay can no longer dismiss his feelings as nostalgia, but Zoe’s still furious at him. And the last time he tried to fix things, she left the company and the country. And now that the stakes are even higher.

Will Jay be able to follow his heart even when improving the world seems easier?

 

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What have you been working on?