My Big Mistakes

When I started documenting my indie publishing journey, I said I'd share my disasters as well as my triumphs. In that spirit, here's three of the biggest mistakes I've made in the last three months:

1) Not making MY business top priority

Women in our society are socialized to put others' needs before their own. Despite my general bitch-ness, I've found myself helping friends with their projects instead of working on my own this summer. As a result, I'm way behind on the schedule I put together at the beginning of the year.

2)  Underestimating my time

When I was a computer consultant, I could estimate to the hour how long it would take me to complete a project.  As an attorney, I could do it within a half day. Unfortunately, I'm still getting the hang of estimating my time when it comes to writing. The difference is working in an office versus working from home. The only time I may not get interrupted is when I'm writing at one of the survivng local coffee shops.  And even then, I often get interrupted by men who don't have a clue.

(Seriously, guys.  Just because a woman is overweight, middle-age and in front of a goddess-damned computer doesn't mean she's desperate for your attention.)

3) Underestimating the need for marketing

Some marketing of your product must be done at all times.  I really dropped the ball on that one because of Items (1) and (2).  I thought I had plenty of promo work over the summer to drift for a little while, but it apparently wasn't enough from the drop-off in sales since the end of August.

Right now, I struggling to get back on track with my schedule. So if you see a red-head in a coffee shop with a Star Trek t-shirt and a laptop, for your own safety, I wouldn't approach her.