Three years after leaving religious life, I no longer feel necessarily like I am in survival mode. (I will write about survival mode soon.)

Still, somedays, with an upcoming release, a full-time day job I am super blessed to have, even if makes me uncomfortable and frustrated–I’m constantly reminding myself that life isn’t about comfort–limited impact on social media even with paid ads, and very few blog hits to help generate buzz, it can all feel overwhelming . . . and futile.

This isn’t to complain, now, I promise. It’s to encourage others who are feeling the grind.

It’s not all about blog hits and sales numbers and likes. It’s about clarifying your thoughts through writing. It’s about connecting with the people who DO show up. It’s about honing and improving your craft. It’s about those moments when you write something and a lightbulb goes off that helps you see a way that you can improve as an artist or a human being.

So, sometimes, you just gotta keep going when the current’s against you.

Like Dory from Finding Nemo, just keep swimming!

• Whether it’s a plot hole you can’t fill . . .
• Or no traffic to your blog . . .
• Or no sales on your book . . .
• Or you’re stuck in revision mode and you prefer writing mode . . .

Keep. Swimming.
Reassess your strategy of approach, perhaps. That may be helpful.

Cultivate a mindset that recognizes we are human beings, and growth in every respect–physical, emotional, spiritual, professional–often comes on gradually.

Cultivate gratitude for small successes and for the virtues you are developing, such as patience, endurance, resilience.

And keep swimming!

Right now, I have no idea how launch day on June 15 is going to go. I’m working hard to get the word out, and I KNOW that after professional editing and production, I have a quality product.

I can be proud of that. I have been praying for God to get my book into the hands of the people he means for it to touch. I can trust He will do that.

That is enough to keep me swimming.

You can like Victoria’s Facebook Page here. You can also check out the latest posts from Victoria:

• Doing the grunt work feels thankless . . . but it’s actually magical
• What the pícaro?
• A look into an author’s mind a week before launch day
• What the graveyard scene in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” taught me about high stakes action scenes
• Character Spotlight: Zalski Forzythe, because everyone loves a good villain