When the fear dissipates and the creativity takes over
The seed and the harvest…
This week…
Fear and creativity
‘Natural’ selling
How I’m launching Book 02
That Academy Award winning film…
A strange thing happens when you begin a new writing project. There’s excitement, of course, because the seed of a story, the one that came to you in a moment of inspiration, is beckoning you forward. Without that seed, there’s nothing to tend to, and then ultimately, nothing to harvest.
But along with excitement, there’s equal parts flat out fear. And I feel like the fear has escalated with each book. Not significantly, but marginally. Not enough to stop me from writing, but enough for it to be noticeable.
I was more naive when I began writing my first book. I followed the path of creative pleasure, and it didn’t let me down. But when I came to begin my second book, I didn’t know if I could do I again. Maybe I would be a one-fluke wonder. Fortunately, that book came into form too, magically.
Now I’m at the beginning stages of my third book and the fear has returned. But experience has taught me how to deal with it: You write on. You write anyway. You write through and beyond it. Then the fear dissipates and the creativity takes over.
The naitivity of writing my first book also extended to its publication and promotion. I’d created and promoted a lot of books, programs and online courses when I was in the parenting space but this felt fundamentally different. I’ve felt less apologetic about ‘selling’ Never, Not Ever than I ever was when I was selling parenting programs. And that’s surprised me.
I’m not a natural sales person and I don’t like hard sales tactics or any tactics at all, really, so I thought I might be shy about promoting my novel. Many authors are. But I was in love with my book, not in an egotistical way, but in a ‘wow, I admire you as a creation’ way, so I wanted, needed to share.
Now, I’m planning the launch and promotion of Book 02 and it feels different again. I’ve had a book out in the world. People have opinions. The world’s a noisy place. There’s so much you could do to promote but limited time and resources. I’ve learnt to play the long game. Patience is more than a virtue, it’s essential.
I’d been sitting on the question, ‘How shall I launch Book 02?’ for awhile now. Not rushing for a response or resolution. Just being open to what felt right. And then it landed last week.
Surprisingly, I’m going to run a Kickstarter again. Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform to help bring creative projects to life. You can help people build board games, shoot a short film, manufacture some fancy footwear - and, of course, publish a book. (Plus so much more. It’s a creative playground.)
I ran a Kickstarter for Never, Not Ever. It was an impetuous, last minute, decision, which I think helped. I couldn’t agonise over how badly it might go. Or worry about how terribly transparent it all is. Everyone can see how well or poorly your campaign is doing. Eeek!
Well, I’m going again because there’s one major advantage to a Kickstarter - it feels like a community project. Nothing is hidden behind the back-end of an online store. We’re in it together! And you don’t pay a thing unless the project gets fully funded. I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks!
We watched the Academy Award winning film, Anora, over the weekend. It required a debrief! More than one! Interestingly, we talked more about the creative storytelling choices than the characters themselves. Although, we all agreed that Igor was the stand out character. Have you seen it? What did you think?
I’m going to share a few Kickstarter campaigns over the coming weeks so if you’re unfamiliar or just keen, you can check them out. I’ll share book projects, because I love to support other authors, but feel free to pursue all the other wild and crazy creative projects you can back - or simply browse.
It’s finally starting to feel like autumn (fall) here in Adelaide, cooler mornings and evenings. But the city is bone dry. We desperately need rain! Meanwhile, other parts of the country have been flooded, including outback Australia - the desert is now a lake. Check out the pics.
Until next time, love to you and yours,
