Good beautiful morning!
It almost wasn’t after what I managed to do on Wednesday. I thought this entire blog was gone because I vastly underestimated my ability to take something technical and just completely mess it up. It turns out that if you need some technology broken, I’m your person.
Without the infinite patience of my husband and the wonderfully supportive, if annoyed, IT Support with DreamHost, the Blue Dandelion Press website and This Book Beauty blog live on! Huzzah!
One of the most important things I’ve learned during this writing process is that wanting to be an author isn’t enough, you have to be willing to shoulder the various hats that an independent author must wear. And that includes a website designer, a social media expert, and a marketing specialist. Fortunately, I’m also learning you don’t have to go it alone. Researching and securing adequate help is necessary for continued sanity.
With less than two months until the release of my first book, I’ve learned a ton. Here are some of my favorite IT Support and spousal Support Tips and Tricks from the last several months.
Learn What You Can, When You Can – But Don’t Try to Do It All at Once
Independent artists are no different from any other field when it comes to education. Though some level of skill may need to exist ahead of time, no one is born with all the knowledge they need to succeed in their craft or career. Reaching out for assistance isn’t a show of weakness either; it’s a sign of intelligence when you think about the time and effort it takes to handle all facets of a project at all times. Seeking assistance from professionals in other fields can decrease the stress of trying to do it all by yourself.
Artists, particularly speaking about authors, are likely not cover designers, typically not editors, and definitely struggle to view their work from a reader’s perspective after several rounds of self-edits. Finding and hiring the skills you lack is a surefire way to help you focus on your writing.
Keep IT Support on Speed-Dial
I’m not a phone call kind of person, I’m barely a texting kind of person. . . heck, I’d say I’m closer to “light the beacons” and “smoke signals”. Still, that hasn’t stopped me from having to reach out to two separate IT departments in the last several days as I’ve managed to break different aspects of my website and another publishing account I’m trying to set up.
The process is a bit painful, especially considering the lack of actual communication that is translated into simple words, added to the fact that I’m trying to explain something I have very little knowledge about. Understanding that IT Support is available to help fix or explain functions of a website or account is important for not breaking things further (Hi, it’s me, I’m the problem). Keeping a list of IT contacts for your various accounts is definitely NOT a bad idea.
Take a Second, Don’t Keep Pressing Buttons
This one… this is the one my IT Husband wishes I would learn and remember instead of forgetting and continuously pressing all the buttons in my frustration. With how quickly the internet works these days, I tend to forget that the inner workings of websites and things DON’T work at hyperspeed. Usually, this means I mess up more things than I ever could have if I had just stepped away and given the system some time to run. But surely I can’t be the only one who completely panics when my website loses its mind… right?
Fortunately, with the assistance of my IT husband and the IT Support at my hosting company, they were able to work out what I had done and how to fix it. I handed it over to him and he headed up the “recover the website” team because, wowza. If I had continued down the path I’d started on, I probably would have ended up permanently deleting the website. And what a shame that would have been; I wouldn’t get to be here with you!
Find A Supportive Network of Loved Ones & Professionals
That leads me to the part about the supportive partners. Finding and leaning on a network of support is vital to keep your sanity when you are working toward independent publication. Independent publishing goes so far beyond getting the book written, and I think many of us, when we set out, forget about those other aspects. Can a book be published without spending a dime? Probably. Should it be? Well…
A supportive network that you can bounce ideas off of, brainstorm and collaborate with is important. Those are the people who are going to be able to help you think about your book, consider different angles, and even read your book from a reader’s viewpoint.
My husband is my #1 supporter, and I’m so blessed to have him to bounce business ideas off of. My mother will gladly spend an hour on the phone with me to discuss plots and plot holes. One of my friends immediately begins seeking answers when I ask her a question. Your supporters don’t need to be family members, but you do need one. And that is coming from an introvert.
So there it is, my very brief ode to the wonders of IT Support professionals and supportive loved ones. Without both, my website wouldn’t be here today. I would have lost all the content and a year’s worth of work simply because I want to write, not design websites. You can pretty much be sure that a web designer is creeping its way to the top of my list for tasks to hire out for.
Happy Reading and Don’t Click the Button 10 Times!
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