I spent a few days away from the keyboard and keeping track of what was going on with the ins and outs of publishing, only to be dismayed when I finally sat back down to it again.
I've been waiting for over a week now for one of the retail sites to process "The Barista's Heart" for publishing, and another is delaying processing - screaming that I've broken all sorts of unwritten styling rules when the style guides provided still don't mention or give guidance on the issue being claimed. I double- and triple-checked before sending it off for processing but, no, it's still broken rules that aren't well explained. It isn’t the sort of thing you want to walk back into seeing after a few days away.
I did come back to an overflowing inbox, but that was to be expected. Before I'd left I'd taken a look at some of the top seller lists and was surprised to see titles that were shorter, had fewer reviews, and seemed to be of varying quality (based on available samples). Certainly not what I was expecting.
A couple of days away should have sorted it all out and I would have forgotten about it all. While checking out the sales that took place while I was away (thank you to those who have bought my books while I wasn't at my keyboard), I looked at some of the reviews that had been posted. Always hungry for feedback, I wasn't quite ready for some of what I read and came away feeling more demoralised than when I had started. It was quite a bitter pill to swallow and is like being told you've got an ugly baby. Not really what you want to hear after a long drive and little sleep.
At least the time away gave me a couple of new story ideas, which should appear in due course. It also means that the only way things can really go from here is up.