Looks like a lot of sites refer to it as candle putty, Hil.

What? Why yes, I am waiting for that manual to finish converting to pdf, thus giving me some unsanctioned posting time.

And the Amazon page; it's like coke -- a rush, but pretty soon, you're on the toilet at 3 am, "just checking e-mail" on your phone when you wake up to pee.

I saw Anne Lamott read at Black Oak Books right after her first collection of theological essays was published, and she said she'd gotten so bad about obsessing over her Amazon page and the minute-by-minute twitches in each book's ratings that she had pounced on the arrival of Lent as an excuse to give it up cold turkey, because Amazon had eaten her brain. And then all the published writers in the audience laughed bitter "Good luck with that" laughs. If smartphones had existed back then, I bet you anything every single one of them would've logged on to check their Amazon pages that very second.

not checking my Amazon page, not checking my Amazon page

goes back to staring at Wall O' Exposition in current draft, grits teeth

Why yes, I am waiting for that manual to finish converting to pdf, thus giving me some unsanctioned posting time.

Stoopid Acrobat hosed up about half of the drawings. The only drafter who can convert them to something I can use is gone for the day. Must be time for me to go home.

smonster, I wish I could help with the decor-generating. Sounds fun, and I bet I'd be helpful. Pesky continent in the way. Good luck on scoring the grant!

I'll admit, I've been very good about the amazon page checking, from the standpoint of not obsessing-- I actually only went to check when someone alerted me to a reader review that was so good, my friend said, "You should offer to have this woman's babies. Seriously."

So yeah, it was that good.

I know a lot of the exhaustion stems from the fact that this time, I did do more promo than ever before, therefore, I'm that much more tired and susceptible to the blahs. I'm also mildly paranoid because I found out that a Carmen book that sold around the time that I first sold it, way back when, actually released two weeks before mine. It's a lot more straightforward interpretation, from what I understand, so from that standpoint very different, but still... I'm waiting for the inevitable compare and contrast, since the other author is of the ilk who gets the lit awards and big reviews, etc. etc.

(Not to mention Walter Dean Myers also has a Carmen retelling coming out-- an urban interpretation and he gets all the big mentions and his books get picked for readings lists and... and... see? I don't need to obsess over my amazon page. I can make myself crazy all on my own. GAH!)

Remember your Steps, Jilli.

Admit you HAVE a problem...

Not being an author, I can only say, Do as I say, Not what I KNOW I would do...because the temptation would make that serpent and Eve look like pikers.

Oof, Barb. That sucks about the Myers and the other books. HOWEVER -- it could serve as a reader feeder for the fans of those authors who will read them, and go looking for new books in the same vein.

Not the best scenario, but a plausible one which ultimately lands you more readers, see? Think sideways, baby, too!

Remember your Steps, Jilli.

It's ... just a jump to the left? Wait, no, that can't be it.

Oh, and let me pull my head out of my self-absorbed ass long enough to say YAY ERIN on the jobby and paycheck goodness!

Oh, and let me pull my head out of my self-absorbed ass

Pffft.

But thanks! WOOOO MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!