And you thought writing was hard . . . !

My book comes out in May (technically, April 29th). The manuscript has long since been turned in, the copyeditor's suggestions either accepted or rejected, and the galleys have been proofed and pages sent for correction.

That means it's time to begin promoting.

Last week I published the first of four character sketches here on my blog. I sent e-mail about this to everyone who signed up for my mailing list, as well as everyone who has written me over the nearly 10 years since my first book was published.

It wasn't easy.

I thought I had my lists completely organized, but I don't. I first tried to organize them in terms of geographical area, in case I ever do a signing where they are. Let's face it, someone who lives in St. Louis couldn't care less if I'll be doing a signing in Indianapolis. But I don't necessarily know where everyone who e-mails me lives, so the bulk of my e-mail address library, aside from areas where I have a fairly large following (my hometown in New York; Jacksonville, Florida, where I used to live; Indianapolis, where I've done several signings; and the Chicago metro area, where I now live) is simply alphabetical. Unfortunately, I noticed that some people got listed twice, on my website mail as well as on my e-mail list. I removed those names I recognized and know I'll have to do a list comparison to make sure I'm not annoying people with multiple e-mails.

The good news is that my book now has a ranking on Amazon (indicating at least a few pre-orders). The bad news is that I'm giving myself three weeks to straighten out these lists. The next time I do an e-mail blast I want each addresse to receive just one copy.

Then there's the e-mail addresses that are no longer valid. This is the number one reason why I won't pay anyone to send out e-mail on my behalf. People change e-mail addresses all the time. When I send them out, I know how many come back. When someone else does it I don't know how many messages of the advertised number are really getting through.

When I finally get this done it'll be a snap.

It's the effort required to get it done that has me exhausted.