Promoting Instead of Writing

Instead of writing my next novel, I'm procrastinating by doing something necessary to my career: promoting my debut novel. 

Of course, I knew that this day would come. I've read plenty of blogs from authors who talk about the juggling act that they undertook once they had one book published but needed to work on the next one. This is where the fairy tale I had in my head meets the happily-ever-after of reality. Publishing is a business after all.

I usually try to conjure up an image of Shakespeare, a known astute businessman and the greatest dramatist in the English language. Even if I allow for his undisputed talents, I must admit that he had a lot more to juggle when it came to promoting his work. He also owned part of his acting company and the theaters where his plays were performed -- so he partly ran the business, all while acting in his own plays. 

For Shakespeare, all of these other jobs fed his playwriting. Being an actor really grounded him about what people wanted to see and gave him a feel for the language, pacing, and action that worked. He was really committed to the success of his plays and ended up retiring very well off. 

I haven't figured out yet how my other jobs will feed into my novel writing, though ....