Why did this happen?

This experience has led me to ask myself a few questions. Was I over-ambitious when I created that reading goal? As a writer, I love reading. But writing has to come first.

My other ambitious goals

This is partly because my goal for this year was to publish Missing, Duplicity and Immunity before the end of December. And, then I changed this goal because things took a little longer than expected. On top of that, I realised that the rapid release publishing model wasn’t right for me. I cannot keep up with writing and publishing one book a month.

And, I don’t want to be exclusive to KDP Select or, if you’re a reader, you’ll know this programme as Kindle Unlimited, because I feel that my books would be great for the french market. A lot of french readers do not go to Amazon to buy ebooks. They probably by a kobo e-reader from FNAC and purchase books from the Kobo store. So, I have to think of my readers and where they want to buy.

In light of all of this, I’ve decided against rapid-releasing books; and to stick to my original plan of being two books ahead of schedule.

Why stay two books ahead of schedule?

If I have a major life event like having a baby, then I can be prepared for that event. Therefore, if I need to take time away from writing, my readers will not notice, because I’m two books ahead of my publishing schedule. So, that was the plan.

How to get over a reading slump

In light of my writing goals, should I change my reading goal? Or, should I try to catch up on those eight books? How am I going to get myself out of my reading rut? Obviously, I’ve decided to attempt to catch up with my reading goal because I feel like my creative well is running dry.

So, what do I mean by a creative well?

To be creative, you must consume other artistic things in order to draw inspiration. And, if you’re writing its much easier to read because reading leads to ideas. You don’t necessarily take ideas from the books you read, but the books will trigger an idea. This is really important for writers. At the moment because I’m in a more analytic mindset, and I’m in the editorial phase, I feel like my well is running dry. It’s like I’ve sent down a bucket and it’s come up, filled with dirt.

So, what steps am I going to take to get out of my reading rut?

The first step is to listen to an audiobook while eating breakfast and doing my daily morning chore. And, secondly, I’m going to start publishing more content on books within the Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense genres on my new youtube channel. Hopefully, these two changes will encourage me to read more books.

Concluding Thoughts

So, how do you get yourself out of a reading slump? I want to hear from you. Let me know your thoughts by sharing in the comments section below.

Thank you for listening, reading, commenting and sharing with such enthusiasm.

Amelia xx

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