Authorpreneur Magazine Issue 3 | Page 7

“ It ’ s hard work and luck , and that the first often leads to the second .”

For me it was also about being ready – that “ luck happens when opportunity and preparedness meet ” – and when my season came around I was as ready as I knew how to be , although not for the rollercoaster that would follow .

So what ’ s really changed for me since March 1 when House for all Seasons hit the shelves ? I ’ m still hunched over a keyboard in a kind of self-imposed solitary confinement and developing addictions to coffee and chocolate , only now I ’ ve developed new addictions to Amazon rankings , Goodreads star ratings , and sales figures .

People probably think that having the ultimate affirmation — a published novel — makes a writer feel six-feet tall and want to brag . No ! I actually am six-feet tall and the thought of spruiking about myself and my work is more likely to have me shrinking into the closest corner because , as I ’ ve discovered , it ’ s when that groundswell starts to form as your book hits the shelves and reviews start coming in that a writer can feel the most vulnerable . One minute you ’ re swept up in a tsunami of promotion : guest blogs , bookshop signings , Twitter storms ( I wish !). You are living the dream and riding so high until ...

Until that wave of expectations — reader , publisher , family , friends ... your own — flips your stomach

inside out ; the kind of dumping wave that turns you in every direction and leaves you gasping for breath .

That ’ s where I am right now , trying to breathe , desperate to know if I ’ m meeting everyone ’ s expectations . Yes , book blogger and reader reviews are coming in and they are GREAT ! But are they as great as Author B ’ s or Author C ’ s reviews ? Why did that newspaper not review MY book ? Are my sales good enough ? Have they justified the promotional spend ? Will all this affect book two ? Will there be a book three ?

Breathe , Jenn ! Just breath !

Jenn J McLeod - author of contemporary Australian fiction - released her debut novel on March 1 , 2013 . House for all Seasons is the first in a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster . Discover more at www . jennjmcleod . com . ( And , of course , on Linkedin , Twitter , Facebook , Goodreads , Google + ( and anything else the tech gurus have invented in the time it took to write this article !)

www . jennjmcleod . com

Jenn has a number of ‘ author portraits ’ with a country theme on her website TIP : Make it easy for the media to access information about you and images for articles / interviews