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Yearly Archives: 2024
BURNOUT! ! !
As of the writing of this article, it’s been a year since I published my fiction novel, Breathe for Me, and there hasn’t been a day that I’ve gone without learning something from my self-publishing experience.
Since publication, I have gone down so many rabbit holes that it’s not even funny, chasing everyone else’s recommended to-do list to make them my own. I’ve chased platforms to subscribe to, signed up for book promotions that left me no choice but to reduce the price of my book; and manipulated my finances so I could publish a hard copy which, by the way, never materialized.
All I have to show for my efforts is exhaustion.
I was so drained and tired that I couldn’t put two sentences together, or muster enough energy to walk to my computer. If I did, I couldn’t sit longer than thirty minutes. I began to moan for unknown reasons. Couldn’t cry if you stabbed me in the foot. I was emotionally spent. Tired of running. Tired of chasing. Tired of trying to dot every “I” and cross every “T.” Overcome by my lack of accomplishments. Literally earning pennies on every ten dollars I spent. Left discouraged, ready to quit, but defiant enough to try one more time. Kept telling myself … “If I can just get this one thing done today …”
This past August I bottomed out and shut down. My body quit. My mind went limp.
I didn’t write because I couldn’t write. I didn’t have it in me.
It got so bad that I couldn’t hold a conversation. No matter what I attempted to say, I didn’t make sense. I had to quit talking, and was too tired to explain why.
What’s the valuable lesson here?
No matter what you’re passionate about, take time to rest. Daily.
The publishing world will drive you crazy with all the to-dos. They are a selfish brood. And they will nickel and dime you to death and make promises they cannot keep.
I sit and chuckle at that because I remember a promotion I entered in March 2024. The headlines sounded promising. You pay $80 for a one-day book promo as voracious readers anxiously waited to hear about your book. I received nothing. A week later, once I calmed down from this debacle, I wrote a very courteous email to the platform who hosted the promo. They told me that the algorithms showed “no hits” on my book. They politely refunded my money.
If we listen to the publishing industry, we can end up in a slush pile of our own making.
Dreams are just dreams if we don’t use care to pursue them in a healthy and sane way.
Chaos is for novels. Wield and manipulate chaos with an expert hand and you’ll captivate an audience and have them turning page after page of your novel. But invoke that same chaos in your personal life and you will reap disaster.
All I want to do is write. That’s it! I never set out to make millions. But neither did I set out to spend millions.
I read an article in Publishers Weekly back in March 2024—it was an older article—about a man who over the last twenty years set out to write. He didn’t follow the tantalizing echoes of the publishing industry to get this done and that done. He blocked out all the noise and created a routine for himself. Stuck to it. And has since written over forty books. Somewhere along his writing journey, he made a name for himself and is doing very well.
Moral of that story?
Consistently writing new stories sells stories. You’ll probably glean something else from the Publishers Weekly story, but that’s my take on it.
That story has stuck with me. It won’t leave me. I realize now that I no longer want to pay attention to the naysayers or chase one platform after another. I want to sit and write one story at a time, making each story as great as it can be.
Since I was forced to stop everything I was doing several months ago, I can finally breathe again. The ground beneath my feet is stable. Doubt has dissipated. I’m smiling more. My energy has returned. My strategic and creative juices are flowing. I’m becoming comfortable in my own skin again. I’ve even taken the time to create a reasonable schedule, one that includes rest.
It’s of no benefit to work yourself into a stupor. Too often we won’t give ourselves permission to rest. And believe me, we can come up with some pretty convincing storylines to support our need to push ourselves. But listen carefully. If you refuse to rest, your body and mind will retaliate. And I don’t care how strong your will may be, your body will do some crazy things until you STOP and rest. Once your body shuts down, there will be dire consequences … consequences that will require a slow, a very slow recovery.
Like with any passion, pursue it diligently … with everything in you. But as you sit and create a workable schedule for yourself, it is essential that you purposely include a time to relax and regroup. Daily. Not when it’s convenient.
Our brain is a muscle. Muscles need to relax. Your brain isn’t designed to be constricted for long periods of time. Neither is your body.
Make rest a daily part of your writing schedule.
You’ll be more productive if you do.
If you have suggestions you would like to share to help others come up with a workable schedule, please share in the comments section.
Happy Writing!!!
Donna B. Comeaux
Author
October 13, 2024
Book Review – The Sound of Glass
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Praise for “Breathe for Me” – Book Reviews
The International Review of Books, independent reviewers who work with BooksGoSocial.com, has given praise for my book, Breathe for Me.
They were asked,
Which line stood out from all the others in the book?
Suddenly, everything seemed right in the world.
Then they were kind enough to write the following reviews:
General Summary for Context:
In Breathe for Me, Robert, on the brink of ending his life while rafting in treacherous waters, unexpectedly encounters Lilly, a young woman with the same fatal intent. Driven by a deep, instinctual need to save her, he rescues Lilly from the river and takes her back to his home, where he nurses her back to health.
As Lilly begins to recover, she takes on the role of Robert’s nanny, but the undeniable chemistry between them hints at something more than just a caregiver relationship. Beneath the surface, both are haunted by their pasts—Lilly, who was forced to leave college after becoming pregnant, lost everything, including her child. Devastated by grief, she fled as far as she could, with nothing left to live for.
Meanwhile, a sinister figure lurks in the shadows—a deranged killer with dissociative identity disorder, fixated on Robert. As the tension between Robert and Lilly grows, so does the threat that endangers them both.
Breathe for Me is a gripping blend of suspense and romance, where the characters’ intense struggles with loss and longing are matched only by the danger that stalks them.
Concise Review:
Breathe for Me delves into the lives of two deeply wounded souls, Robert and Lilly, who find each other at their lowest points and discover a reason to keep going.
Robert’s life was shattered when his wife died in a car accident that nearly claimed his child as well. Wracked with guilt and grief, he reflects on the life he left behind in Italy, where he grew up as a prodigiously talented teenager before moving to the States. Though he quickly rose to success and built a thriving company, his work consumed him, leaving little time for his family. When the burden of his regrets becomes unbearable, Robert heads to the river with the intention of ending his life. But there, in the midst of his despair, he spots a woman on the verge of drowning herself—and something within him compels him to save her.
That woman is Lilly, a young mother who lost everything after becoming pregnant in college. Abandoned by her family and boyfriend, she raised her child alone, only to be crushed by grief when her baby died. The weight of her sorrow and self-blame drives her to the brink, where she spends her last bit of money on a journey to end her life as far from her past as possible. But Robert’s intervention pulls her back from the edge, and he brings her home, caring for her until she recovers enough to become the nanny for his child.
As Robert and Lilly navigate their complicated feelings and the “mad tension” that simmers between them, they must also confront the dark forces threatening to destroy them. Someone with a dissociative identity disorder is hunting Robert, determined to see him dead. The suspense builds as this unseen danger draws nearer, intertwining with the burgeoning connection between Robert and Lilly.
Breathe for Me is a fast-paced, suspenseful tale of finding love in the darkest of times. Both Robert and Lilly believe love is the last thing they need, but it may be the only thing that can save them. Despite its exploration of grief, guilt, and the shadows that haunt us, the story carries a powerful message of hope and redemption.
This is the kind of book you’ll want to read in one sitting—its blend of intense emotion, rising tension, and the looming threat of danger will keep you hooked until the very end.
General thoughts on the Novel:
Breathe for Me tackles heavy, emotionally charged themes, including grief over the loss of a loved one, overwhelming guilt, the desperation that leads to thoughts of suicide, and the menace of a killer on the loose. Yet, beneath these dark layers, the story also explores the profound themes of love and hope.
At its core, this is a love story about two people who find their missing halves in the depths of their despair, even as life continually throws obstacles in their path. The narrative is infused with suspense and unfolds at a fast pace that keeps you eagerly turning the pages. The storytelling is gripping, making it hard to put the book down.
Breathe for Me is ideal for readers who enjoy a suspenseful love story with depth and intensity.
Excitement is a mild word to describe how I feel.
Use all that I’ve shared here as inspiration to do whatever you’ve been putting off. Don’t allow another sunset before taking steps toward your goal. It’s doable. And you’ll be happy with yourself for putting forth the effort. There’s more success in the doing than in the procrastinating. So, get busy. Let’s pound on some keys and give failure a hard and tumultuous landing.
What do you say?
Donna B. Comeaux
Author
“Breathe for Me”