The State of the Books:
By Thio Isobel Moss
It’s eleven in the evening, and I’ve already been to bed for the night. It didn’t stick. Now I’m eating chicken salad—Waldorf-style, because that’s how I roll.
Earlier today, I felt overwhelmed. Not by anything good or bad, exactly, but by change. If you’ve been around a few weeks, you may remember my impetuous mission to master—or at least learn how to use—social media as a marketing tool. And yes, I still plan on doing a dance on TikTok, but it’s going to be a while.
As an aside, I tried recruiting my sister-in-law to dance with me, thinking I might then persuade my cousin, too. With three of us, I would look marginally less idiotic…or idiotic with friends. She didn’t shoot the idea down outright, but said “maybe” in that tone of voice that translates directly to: “Not on your life.”
Alas. I shall dance alone.
Anyway, I’ve been working on my Instagram game, and I’m delighted to report that my numbers have doubled in short order. This minor miracle has not come without costs—both financial and emotional—but progress is progress. Nothing substantial has changed except that the algorithm has finally realized this horse is not, in fact, dead. Still, something tripped my panic button.
It’s book launch season. A small freakout was inevitable.
So I decided not to write, format, market, or tackle any of the millions of other things that somehow must get done. To any aspiring indie author reading this: most of those things feel necessary now, but many of them (most) will not get done, and it will be fine. Choose your battles wisely.
I made the bold decision to take some leisure time.
Objects in the Mirror is progressing well. The copyright for Bump is in the works, and I already have my LCCN. My marketing knowledge is expanding at an alarming rate. I had earned a little downtime.
Granted, I’m terrible at respecting “work hours” and “non-work hours.” A strange, unnatural, complicated concept! So far, I’ve only managed to enforce weekends by dedicating them to reading, reviews, art projects, and working with my brother on his game.
Which brings me to the highlight of my day.
My birthday is still over a month away, but my present—two Luisa Pressler prints—arrived today. They’ve been framed and are currently displayed on the mantle, looking appropriately dramatic and beautiful. Maggie the Undying and Everard, the Sleepless Duke, shall preside over my writing studio…as soon as it’s available to them! I love my present!
While editing Bump, my dad surfaced briefly from the mires of copyediting, looked at me, and said, “I get to read all your books for free!”
Years from now, I’m going to bawl like a baby remembering that moment.
My dad doesn’t even read fantasy, but he loves my books. Is he biased? Absolutely. Do I care? Not remotely.
My brother and I were discussing work plans for this weekend, too. We talked logos, marketing, and the worldbuilding for his game. I ran a few ideas past him—just a couple pages of lore and race concepts—and Oz completely freaked out.
Apparently, I am a genius. He actually said those words, and I wasn’t recording the call! He’ll be able to deny them later, and there’s nothing I can do about it, except know the truth.
He was exaggerating, but I’ll absolutely take it.
The really exciting part is that we officially committed to avoiding the more traditional fantasy races—elves, dwarves, hobbits, and the like. It’s risky, but it’s also an opportunity to make the world unique.
So yes, I’ll be working this weekend, and I’m excited about it. A couple of hours of sleep later, and I’m already back on the move. I really do need to define better work-life boundaries eventually, but creative momentum is difficult to ignore.
Oh. I guess I should make this relevant to the title of this post. The state of the books: in another minor miracle, everything remains on schedule. I’m giving Bump one more read-through for my own peace of mind. Objects in the Mirror is half-written, and I’m steadily building a working outline alongside it. Is that the wrong order? Impossible to say.
And tonight—this morning—I’m going to indulge myself by writing a truly unreasonable, epic amount of micro fiction.
So, dear friends, the adventure continues. Be of stout heart, and let us prevail against the self-doubts and time constraints that dare oppose us. Onward!
Translation: time to work.
