I heard from the CEO of Menucha Publishers last week, and he says that while there are no official numbers yet, the sales of Glixman in a Fix are strong. I’m a bit frustrated because due to the timing (the U.S. release was just before Shavuos, and now my kids are all home from school), I can’t really spend the time and energy on promoting the book that I’d like.
Writing has been hard, too. I’ve tried to write in the early hours while my kids are still either asleep or curled up with a book, but everything is slow, slow, slow. Still, I managed to write a short essay last week, have added a bit to my novel-in-progress, and started a new short story yesterday.
I’m trying to remind myself that summertime brings all sorts of new and different experiences, especially with everyone home from school and no camp in sight. Hopefully, all those novelties will feed my writing once I have more time on my hands again. But I can’t help feeling frustrated.
Rebecca Klempner 
Frustration is part of the road to long-term success. Your frustration reflects the fact that you have been exerting the tremendous effort required to succeed. Don’t give up; you’ll get there.
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Sometimes I feel like I do exert tremendous effort – towards everything else other than writing! So busy with housekeeping, kid-rearing, editing, organizing women’s events for shul, and (alas) time-wasting.
I picked up a book by Walter Moseley (who grew up literally around the corner from our apartment) yesterday and he vocalized the reminder that if I just wrote every day, there would be a novel done in a year. Pick it up to three pages a day, you’ve easily got three novels rough draft in a year. I just need to get myself moving. The last two days, ironically, have been relatively productive. Maybe if I just use my time better, I can reach my goal faster.
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I’m glad your book is selling well. I’m also having trouble writing lately as I’m still adapting to my new work hours. It’s going to get worse come the new academic year, as I’ll be working four days a week (practically full time! Yay!). I’ve written a few mini-sagas (stories exactly fifty words long), which are fairly easy to write once I have a suitable idea, although they often come into my head on Shabbos (because I’m free of distractions maybe) and I have to memorize them until after havdalah. Do you ever get that problem?
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YES! I get that problem all the time. My (usually works) solution, is to pester all my family members and any friends I see on Shabbos by telling them about the “great idea I had.” Either I remember them by the end of telling so many people, or after Shabbos, someone asks me, “Did you ever write that down?”
The problem is that this only works when I think of these “brilliant” ideas during normal waking hours. If inspiration hits me at 2 a.m., I am up the creek w/o a paddle. And it has happened. 😦
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Interesting idea, but I tend to be a bit shy about telling people my ideas until I’ve finished them (and sometimes even after that). My usual strategy is to repeat the idea frequently in my head, which isn’t so bad on Shabbos, but gets a bit much on a three day Chag into Shabbos!
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I hear you. Yomim tovim are often much worse for me in this regard, too. This last Pesach, I had one of my “brilliant moments,” didn’t get to tell anyone about it, forgot it by chol hamoed, remembered it on Acharon shel Pesach, then forgot it all over again. Grrrrr…
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