Did you brave the cold to view the Leonid meteor showers this week? As our earth moved through this massive cloud of cosmic bits this week, a nightly show could be viewed with the naked eye. Maybe you were outside to see the dust and ice streak across the dark sky as fiery meteors. The Leonid meteor shower leaves indie-spirited writers with three important gems to remember.
1. Prepare for a successful experience. Be prepared to brave the cold with comfortable camp chairs, warm blankets, and hot drinks. (A Thermos® of coffee, hot chocolate, or mulled wine is a great idea.) Anticipating the discomforts is the best way to avoid them.
2. Patience. Between ten to fifteen meteors can be seen each hour. That’s one every four to six minutes. In this age of ten-second kitty videos on YouTUBE and Facebook, even a few minutes can seem like an eternity. Get someplace dark. Get comfortable. Breathe and wait. Enjoy the light show. It’s worth the wait and any discomfort—if you prepared for it.
3. Many small successes add up to great successes. Unlike seeing a single comet through a telescope, there is nothing quite like seeing several meteors streak across the sky in a relatively short period. Having watched the Leonids alone, with someone special, and a group of friends, the collective wonder of seeing and calling out each sighting, makes for a greater experience and memory. Each ingredient adds to the greater success of the watching event.
Your indie book project is exactly the same kind of wondrous event as the Leonid meteor showers. Publishing is a marathon endeavor. With preparation you can succeed in even the most challenging bookselling climates. With patience you can anticipate and enjoy the peaks of interest and sales that naturally occur over time and as a direct result of smart marketing. Expect and savor the collected experience of impacting real people through individual sales. Help your friends and colleagues pass along your book information when they have opportunities to share with others (new readers).
Indie-publishing your book can be a satisfying experience, as you reach milestones and enjoy the process and success with your boosters and others. Anticipate cold spells, but be glad that success takes time to achieve. Each step and sale is progress toward the successful destination you’ve identified.
Read more about Redbrush’s indie-publishing model in our publishing guide, The Compass (http://www.redbrush.com/resources/guide.html).
