I have a new book out in a few days. If I’ve counted right, this is my 35th novel. Thirty-five! And to think that I spent years believing that I was incapable of writing even one novel.
The time surrounding a new release is… fraught. For one thing, I have to do promo, and like many authors, I dread this aspect. I don’t know what really works—despite the zillions of often contradictory pieces of advice out there in the world—and it’s hard to find creative ways to say, “Buy my book, pleeeeeaaaase!” I don’t want to annoy people, but I do want to reach them. Nobody’s going to buy the book if they don’t know that it exists. Promo is also really time-consuming, and of course I’d prefer to be working on my next book.
But promo isn’t the only new release issue. There’s also, well, the sharing part. I’m usually desperately eager for my book to debut because I love it and I want other people to love it too. I’m not a patient person, and waiting until release day is hard. On the other hand, there’s also some fear. What if nobody else likes my book? I put hundreds and hundreds of hours of work into it and fell in love with the characters, so it’s at least a little devastating if others don’t feel the same.
And finally, there’s the book hangover. You know how it feels when you finish reading a great book? You’ve been having a wonderful time and then… it’s over. Well, releasing a book feels a little like that. I’ve been immersed in this world and now it’s out of my hands. I miss my imaginary people. It’s not so different from becoming an empty nester: mixed feelings of delight that you’ve succeeded in getting this far and sadness that you won’t be so close to a beloved.
Hopefully, in this case all will go smoothly and I’ll remain calm. Anyway, now I’m working on the sequel!
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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.
After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her family and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.
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A complete list of Kim’s books: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com/books/