Category Archives for My projects

Dealing With Pre-Release Nerves

On the surface I’m as cool as a refrigerated cucumber.

I’m making the final edits. I’m organising the blog tour. Writing guest posts, taking pre-orders, prepping media kits…

Inside, though, all I’m thinking is:

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH OMG OMG EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!

Why on earth am I publishing Above Ground? Why am I drawing SO much attention to its release? What if no one likes it!? Above Ground is so different in terms of style and content to my previous release; no one who enjoyed Hungry For You will enjoy this!

Pre-release nerves have hit me hard over the last few weeks, in a way that they never did with Hungry For You. I’ve been wondering why I’m so much more nervous, and I think it’s for the following reasons:

  • Now I have something to prove.
    I had nothing to prove with Hungry For You. I had no prior releases, nothing for people to compare to, and no reputation to live up to.

  • Above Ground is a novel.
    Hungry For You is an anthology, so I was fairly confident that everyone would enjoy at least one story. With Above Ground you either like it or you don’t.

  • Above Ground is my baby.
    I’ve been writing it for 3+ years and have re-written it twice. (To put that into perspective, I wrote Hungry For You in 6 months.) Letting go has been very hard.

  • Above Ground has more “baggage”.
    Due to its webfiction roots, I have readers who’ve seen the story’s entire progression, from terrible rough draft through to today’s version. They’ve encouraged and supported me, and it makes me feel like I have a lot more people to disappoint.

I know, I know. I’m being silly.

All writers have their little insecurities, and it is important not to get overwhelmed.

Here’s the tactics I’m trying:

How To Deal With Pre-Release Nerves

  1. Ignore them.
    They won’t go away, but that’s not going to stop me!

  2. Admit you’re nervous.
    Hence this blog post. :-)

  3. Make to do lists.
    Tackle one thing at a time to stop yourself from getting overwhelmed.

  4. Don’t panic.
    By now your book is coming out whether you like it or not. So there’s no point worrying!

  5. Stay positive.
    There are a LOT of people in the world. Someone will definitely like your book.

Any suggestions to add to the list?

How to Win Prizes In November

Two weeks to go until the Above Ground blog tour begins!

Now, I’ve been dropping hints about the fact that there will be a MYSTERY RAFFLE.

Yes, mystery.

And there are going to be a whopping ELEVEN PRIZES up for grabs.

Before you think I just pulled the number eleven out of a hat for absolutely no reason whatsoever, please count the number of letters in “above ground” (including duplicates).

That’s right. I am giving away one prize for every letter in Above Ground.

Now, I am not going to tell you what these mystery prizes are until the tour is over. However, you are more than welcome to guess… and here’s a clue:

There is one prize per letter. Each letter is the first letter of that prize’s name.

In other words, the eleven prizes could be: apples, bananas, oranges, vanilla beans, elderberries, grapes, raspberries, olives, ugnis, nectarines, and damsons.

Here’s another clue:

None of the prizes are edible.

So. That’s all I’m going to say.

Are you going to risk entering the mystery raffle?

Interview on Whispers from the Abyss!

Whispers from the Abyss is the blog of horror/suspense author Richard Schiver.

Today, Richard has kindly posted a wee little interview with moi, asking when I first considered myself a writer, what I’m passionate about, and more.

Choice excerpt:

Despite the romantic ideal of the lonely author locked up in a cave somewhere, inscribing words on a stone tablet fuelled only by alcohol and caffeine, I ultimately believe that writing is for readers. If you don’t want someone to read that story one day, why write it down? I think that’s why I only recently began to think of myself as a writer — because previously I wasn’t really writing to share.

Are you a writer if you don’t have readers? If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound?

You can read the full interview here.

Announcing the Above Ground Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of my first novel, I’m organising a month-long blog tour.

From November 1st to 30th, there will be prizes and fun times, plus guest posts, interviews, excerpts, short stories, reviews, and anything else you can dream up.

This is where YOU come in. I want to get a blog tour slot for every single day. Do you run a blog? Do you want to join the fun and earn my undying gratitude?

Fill in the form below with your availabilities and what type of post you’d like to run, or email me at annamharte [at] gmail [dot] com.