One month as a published author: positives, negatives and YouTube videos

A month ago my first book was published and released into the world and I wanted to reflect on the past few weeks. The Residents of Romiley Road is self-published, which means that as well as writing every word inside the book (based on months of extensive research that was all completed by me), I formatted it, edited it, designed the front cover, and submitted it to Amazon and IngramSpark to be produced. It also means that I am solely responsible to getting word out about the book and encouraging people to give it a go.

Whilst I believe there's a magic in working with and collaborating with others, I have always preferred to work alone. I get a special kind of satisfaction from completing a project from start to finish, whether that's sewing a quilt, redecorating a room or writing a book.

The downside is that the pressure for something to be a success lies 100% on one person's shoulders. And when things don't go exactly to plan, or there are disappointments, the feelings of failure can weigh heavy. There have certainly been frustrations this past month, most of which were out of my hands. I have severe lung disease (bronchiectasis) and have been having almost back to back flare ups for over a year now. So of course I had another one just as the book was about to be released. Whilst I wanted to get out into the world and push the book, my body had other ideas. There have also been issues with people getting hold of the book, having to wait weeks for it to arrive.

Our brains have a tendency to focus on the negatives far more than the positives and to minimise successes whilst magnifying setbacks. It is therefore so important to celebrate the wins and take time to sit with the positives. As I write this, almost 70 copies of my book have been bought (I don't know the exact number as I have a new rule to only check the sales figures on a Monday). I've had a few really positive reviews and overall people seem to be enjoying it. The website has been really busy. The stories that mean so much to me are getting out into the world.

YouTube news

I'm very aware that many people don't have the time to sit and read a whole book but do enjoy short videos, and I have been posting videos over on TikTok for over a year now. It has always frustrated me that I can't use playlists on there (10,000 followers needed!) and it's very hard to search for a specific topic. I have decided to remedy this by beginning to upload videos on my YouTube page. It is an arduous and boring process so it will take time but I'm starting with my "A Walk Down Romiley Road" series where each video highlights one of the 83 households that I researched. Household 1 on a Walk Down Romiley Road in 1871 - The Craven Heifer Pub Here is a link to the first video. I will be uploading every other day.

Too many ideas, not enough time

One issue that I always have is wanting to do more than I have time to do. Or having so many ideas that I have decision paralysis and end up achieving nothing. I should really write everything down for now so that one day I can action the ideas. Right now, my focus is on completing the 83 households on the website (up to household 70 I think), making videos for those 83 households, and putting them up on YouTube.

A question for you

If you have read the book or the website, I would love to know which of the residents of Romiley Road is your favourite? Please comment below.