book release 🌕 full moon letter
My book's out. Now what?
My book, Ebony, Blood, and Snow, has been released into the wilds of online retail. Now what?
I’ll be honest: I did not reach any of my pre-release goals. Not sales, not social media followers, nor substack subscribers.
So, what am I gonna do? Feel bad about it? Not very. They were modest goals, I thought, but I also had no idea! I’ve never done this before! I made a note of my actual numbers next to my goals, for reference, and now I will move on.
I will continue my marketing, as I always knew I would have to. Although BookTok would have me believe that a book only exists in the pre-sales/ARC stage and no one cares once it’s no longer new, I’m not going to give up on my book now that it’s released. I’m just getting started!
Now, I get to continue to build a fairy tale-curious community online and share my book with them. Now, I get to work on my next book to begin building my catalogue, which, after many books, could be an actual source of income.
Now, I get to live my life as a published author!
Here’s a new alliterative organization of little newslettery things that I’ll try to do every full moon/month.
Creations
What I’ve created lately.
Ebony, Blood, and Snow: New Stories from Old Tales
But really, lately, all I’ve been creating is content to promote it on social media. It’s exhausting. I miss writing.
Interview with The Fairy Tale Magazine
I was honoured to be included in this series of Author Talks. Kelly Jarvis was a great interviewer; it felt wonderful to get questions about my work from someone who had read and engaged with it.
My book shower!
It was virtual, so I recorded it and will share some clips of myself talking about the book. It was really fun to see so many friends, from three different countries, come together to show their support. I created a schedule of activities, decorated my living room, made a cake, and made a sash that said “Debut Author” because that seemed like a shower thing.
Curiosities
What’s grabbed my attention and held it lately.
Remedios Varo
A reel came into my feed about her art, her alchemy, and her crystals. I was intrigued by her paintings, so I Googled her name and spent some time looking at high-quality images of her paintings. I might order a book of her art.
Michaels Spring Gothic collection
My style has become so mainstream. I no longer have to wait for Halloween collections to do my home decor shopping. Michaels has goth decor almost year-round now. It’s all overpriced and poorly made, but sometimes, with a coupon, a certain item is worth adding to my decor.
Consumptions
What I’ve read, watched, listened to, played, done, ate, drank, consumed lately.
Natalie Wynn (Contrapoints) released another epic video essay.
Lights released two new songs and videos from her next album, A6. Die-hard Lights fan here.
Chocolate cake for breakfast (leftover from my book shower).
Since the first one came out in October, I’ve been excited to see every month Google has another Rise of the Half Moon game in the Google Doodle. I keep them all open in tabs on my phone and choose which colour scheme I’m in the mood for when I need a lil game.
Comfort (re)watching New Girl. I maintain that Jess and Nick’s first kiss is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen on television.
Cards
I regularly pull a card, or a whole spread, from one of my many tarot or oracle decks at the beginning of a month/season, or when I need some guidance.
I’m into my Seasons of the Witch: Beltane Oracle deck lately, since Beltane is the next sabbat and I can only hope that using this deck will beckon in Spring weather. (Spring ‘beginning’ in March is a joke to most of Canada. We can’t get through April without at least one snowstorm.)
Last week, getting anxious about my book release, I pulled three cards for my book’s ‘success’ and two of the cards were the same that I’d pulled for the Spring season at the beginning of March. Like, okay, I get it. (That’s happened before with this deck- repeating cards. Like it really won’t let things go until I really get it.) But the card that was different this spread was Indulgence.
The other repeating cards were about trusting myself and the universe that good things are coming, I can achieve what I set out to, that I will get what I want and need. And the addition of this card felt like: go ahead and enjoy it, girl.
So, I’m going to go ahead and enjoy it. My own definition of success (even one book sale is a success!), my own way of getting things done (lots of breaks and naps), and trust that more good things are coming my way because I deserve it.
From beneath the most recent layer of April snow,
.tish