Risk Management has been out for 17 days now! I’m trying to focus on publicity stuff and my progress with the second draft of Recovery House (the second book in the SUD Chronicles!) and my poetry, rather than obsessively checking the Amazon book sale rankings obsessively. Those numbers supposedly don’t give helpful information, anyway.
Speaking of obsessive…my most recent medication change for OCD symptoms seems to be helping! I get angry about the stereotypes applied to people with OCD – cleaning, washing hands, etc. – but honestly, those are common symptoms, and I used to have them. Now I mostly just have my friendly OCD archangel of doom
sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear that I’m forgetting something important, and it feels so strong that I go through the house checking for anything I might’ve forgotten. But of course, there isn’t anything, so I just keep checking until I realize that this isn’t real. Even then, it’s so insistent, that I sometimes check a few more times, anyway. It’s hard to ignore a feeling that strong! But with the new med, I’m able to say, “That’s OCD,” and “If I forgot something, it’ll come to me later, and I’ll take care of it or write it down so I won’t forget again.” Or even, “If I forgot something important, I’ll just have to deal with the consequences.” What was most helpful, pre med-change, was actually forgetting things I needed and dealing with the consequences. It was a bit painful doing without the things, but that experience helped defuse the anxiety that was driving me to waste half the day wandering around the house feeling lost and concerned.
But back to my new book (which you can purchase on Amazon!). I’ve also been checking the Amazon page hoping for REVIEWS (sorry for yelling – but I really need you to notice this part 🙃). Amazon reviews make a major difference in whether Amazon and my publisher will put more time and effort into making my book visible, so naturally, I’m anxious (a little obsessed in spite of meds) about them. If you read it, would you mind throwing your stars on the page and adding a sentence or two? To positively affect promotions, it doesn’t have to be much at all, and it doesn’t even have to be a good review. Although a bad review may discourage someone else from reading it, it won’t discourage promotions. Plus, I want to know how people really feel about the story. So feel free to be honest!
Most of the poetry I’ve written has been about mental health, including “Your Friendly OCD Archangel of Doom,” and I’d really like to share it here, but I read in some submission guidelines that if I post it on social media or website, that counts as publishing it, and some places won’t look at it in that case. I’d really like to get some external validation on it (and reach a wider audience), so I’m going to hold off with sharing it for now.
Now that I’m trying to juggle all these creativity and promotional balls, time management and focus are becoming super important, so I’m going to find a couple of pictures and post this now instead of letting it sit in my drafts for three days while I read it over and over obsessively, changing one or two words each time. If I made a mistake or didn’t express myself clearly, just know that it’s a small price to pay to avoid the pressure from the archangel to check it again. (One more time. No do it again. Check it.)🖕🏻I’ll just stop here. 😆
