Spring makes me reconsider my priorities.

In much the same way as New Year's but…

My priorities, when spring comes, change. They look like this:

• Spend more time in the garden.

• Grow seeds and use my greenhouse.

• Enjoy nature more by walking.

• Visit places near my house that I never got to last year, Longwood Gardens and Winterthur

• Take one-day trips (I have a senior dog and can't go overnight.)

• Attend at least two music events.

• Plan something festive for my husband and my 46th wedding anniversary instead of waiting till the week of and deciding.

• Plan something for my husband's 70th Birthday celebration instead of just winging it.

Suddenly, publishing three new books a year seems less critical than it once was when I made my New Year's goals. This is expected in year three of my publishing journey. It's not that things are getting old; they are not, but I'm discovering that I must pace myself to have a balanced life.

I'm figuring out how far I can take publishing as a business. It is undoubtedly more than a hobby. However, if I had to rely solely on writing and publishing my books to make a living, I would barely get by, perhaps having to rent a room, eat a can of beans for dinner, and sell my belongings for extra income. The initial costs for editing and book covers were only possible because I'd worked full-time as a college professor before I pursued writing. I recently came across an insightful article on Shepherd.com listing the three most essential things for authors to market their books. The article made me feel successful, considering the number of books published yearly and the number already existing on Amazon. It also gave me confidence that I am doing some of the suggested things required, but it also let me know that if I want to reach my goals, I will have to commit to doing them better.

I often wonder how other authors do it. How do you pursue your dreams and preserve your life with a family and jobs? How many books do you plan on writing this year, and what other activities will you do to maintain balance? Please share by leaving a comment.

I'm working on putting my last print book up on Amazon this week for those interested in this topic. If you experience problems while adding a print book (perhaps you can't see the book cover or the manuscript, or it just circles back and won't add the book,) here are things to try; go back and double-check that the title of your book on Bowker and the title of your book on Amazon are precisely the same. Mine was thrown off by a colon. The other thing to check is that your Bowker name (the name you use to publish) is the same as what you use on Amazon. Once all that was straightened out on that one book, I had no problem. The person on Amazon's chat line was helpful. I've had excellent luck every time I've used this chatline when I've had difficulties.

So far this month, 51.% % of my sales have come from paperback sales. It could be because this is new for me, or maybe it's because of the covers. I have no idea, but I would never have anticipated this happening. Still waiting to receive my draft copy from Draft2Digital for one of my books; they said it's on the way. Then, I can start working on all the others on that platform. All I can say about Draft2Digital is that print books take much longer to do with them, especially if you want a draft copy before pushing the print button.

PLEASE DISREGARD THE PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT BUTTON, IT GENERATES AUTOMATICALLY. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY TO SUBSCRIBE. WHEN AND IF I LOOK FOR PAYMENT IT WILL BE FROM CORPORATE SUPPORT, NOT FROM MY AUTHOR SUBSCRIBERS.