Guest Blog Post with Christina McMullen

Guest Blogger Christina McMullen, author of Past Life Strife (Rise of the Discordant Book 1) among other books, is hanging with me today. She's here talking about how the people in your still love you, even if they don't gush about your book all the time.

Even your mom.

A Delicate Balance

or

Your Friends Don’t Want to Hear About Your Damned Book

When it comes to the ups and downs of indie author life, nothing beats a great group of author friends who will be there to both celebrate and commiserate. Much has been said on the topic of why we little fish fare better when we swim together. Likewise, it’s fantastic to have a close-knit group of supporters that come from other areas of your life. Family and friends can be a great boost for a new author’s self-esteem. The love and support of a great network of friends and family is amazing and should never be taken for granted.

But there’s a flip side as well. Your friends, your non-author friends who have known you since before the a-ha moment when you stood up and extended your index finger skyward and proclaimed yourself a wordsmith, are simply that: friends. They are not your audience. They are not your marketing department. They should not be expected to be anything other than happy for you and even then, it’s okay if they are a little indifferent.

A long time ago, well, okay, two years ago, I was a new author on the verge of publishing my first book. I posted quite regularly on Facebook about how excited I was to have finally finished a complete novel. I got plenty of likes and congratulatory messages and even a few exclamations of shock from those who had to listen to me prattle on for several decades about how I was going to write a novel.

When I finally took the plunge and published, I was taken aback by the amount of support I’d had. Before I even had a chance to officially announce that my first novel was available, friends and family were already sharing their purchases, stealing the thunder of my own announcement in the coolest way possible. I’d logged over a dozen sales before I even woke up on the morning it came out. And for a time, this continued. People were impressed and happy to tell me that they downloaded my book. Friends of friends were posting that they picked it up as well. I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to hear people’s opinions. I was already planning my answers to the questions they might have when they finished.

But the opinions never came. The questions never came. The only questions I received on the regular were how well I was selling and whether or not I had plans to become a ‘real’ author. When my book failed to appear on the bestseller shelf of their local bookstore and I failed to snag an interview with Oprah, even more interest dropped off. Yes, there was a small group who did actually read and even enjoyed my book. These were, of course, the friends and family member who were avid readers and early adopters of the e-book format. This small group has since become my core support and I can’t thank them enough for everything they have done.

The others, the majority of friends and family who bought that first book, never got around to reading. Well, they might have, but they never gave me an opinion, good or bad, so I prefer to assume that they didn’t read rather than assume that they hated what I wrote and didn’t have the guts to tell me. As far as they were concerned, they paid their dollar and that was enough. This became more than evident when my second book came out and my first day sales were in the single digits and no one was posting an “I just bought…” link on social media.

Did this hurt? Of course. I made something that I hoped would be loved and appreciated, and it was met by a wall of indifference. Did I have a right to get mad? No.

No?

No. My friends and family are simply that. They are not my audience and I had no right to expect them to be. In fact, if I’d been paying attention to anything other than yelling to the rooftops that I wrote a book, I would have remembered that among my family and friends, I’ve always been something of an outlier when it came to entertainment tastes. Not everyone I know shares my love of reading, science fiction, and new tech gadgetry. To expect them to suddenly have a passion for these things just because I wrote a book would be the same as a friend expecting me to become a country & western fan just because they joined a honky tonk band. Would I buy their album? Yes, but I probably wouldn’t be jamming out to it in my car any time soon.

I’m about to publish my eighth book. Many of the people who bought my first book probably don’t even know I’ve written anything since. Not because I’m not shouting from the rooftops. Oh no, the magic has definitely not worn off and I still have a massive adrenaline rush every time I click “publish.” But because my hootin’ and hollerin’ is a little better targeted these days. I have separate social media for my personal and professional lives. If I want to talk to shop, I hit up a fellow indie. If I need help or feedback, I head over to my favorite support group on Goodreads. If I want someone to grab a beer with and talk about everything and anything besides writing, I hit up my friends and feel grateful that I have amazing people in my life who know exactly how to yank me out of my shell and distract me when I need it. The fact that I asked them to hang out to distract myself from writer’s block can be our little secret.

About the Book

Blackbird may seem like any other small Midwestern town, but the bland and unremarkable façade hides a dark and deadly secret. The Discordant, creatures from the realm of Chaos, lurk in the shadows, preying upon the souls of Blackbird’s unsuspecting residents.

As an Observer, Seth is tasked with identifying the lost before they fall victim to the Discordant. An unenviable job under normal circumstances, but the situation takes a turn for the worse when Blackbird’s Guardian calls it quits and no new Guardian is available to take her place. Instead, Seth now finds himself partnered with Desmond, a powerful and intimidating Warrior, who worries that Seth will give in to the lure of Chaos. Desmond’s fears are all but validated when a magical disturbance draws even more Discordant to the area. Among them is Amara, a dangerous and nearly invincible femme fatale from Seth’s past.
To stop her, Seth must sacrifice his own soul or put all of his faith in a psychic’s vague prediction. But without a Guardian, both the Observer and Warrior are at a disadvantage and time is running out.

Christina McMullen is a science fiction and fantasy author who may be over forty, but still builds blanket forts and believes that the floor is in fact lava. She currently resides in Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband and three dogs. When she isn't writing, Christina enjoys travel, vegan cooking, modern and classical art, and of course, reading.
Past Life Strife is the first book in her latest urban fantasy series, Rise of the Discordant. Book two is called Splitsville and will be available in early spring. For updates on new releases and monthly promotions, please consider following her on Facebook (facebook.com/mcmullenwrites) or Twitter (@mcmullenwrites)