Unfortunate events and delays

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately, the past few weeks have not been so great. My mind has been a bit all over the place, trying to deal with everything all at once. I’ve barely been able to focus on writing and I haven’t been able to draw for the past two weeks. It’s been a strange couple of weeks trying to focus on anything but ultimately failing to do so.

A couple weeks ago I found out that I’m being laid off by the end of September. Initially I was taken aback by the news, not fully sure how to process it. I tried to take some time to understand the situation and what to do next. I tried to continue as usual while also working on my resume and figuring out my next career move. However, although I have a plan of action, the undue stress that it has caused has directly affected my ability to concentrate on writing and drawing. Even though I know what I need to do, my mind keeps drifting to try and put it off and escape into other distractions.

To add to the issue, the first book proof was supposed to come in on Friday however it appears to be delayed by a full week so I likely won’t see it until the end of this coming week. The issue here is that, before I can release the book, I need a perfect proof copy. You only get one chance to make a good impression and if the positioning of the text is wrong or the colors not coming out correctly can ruin everything. While proof copies normally take about five days to arrive, if this new time table becomes the norm it likely means the book release will be delayed. The job layoff also means the marketing budget I had has been severely restrained unless I can find work soon. This part is key in the first few months of a book’s release to ensure that it does well.

I had to take the past few days to really think about what to do next. I think, for the time being, I will have to put this blog on pause for the next couple of weeks so that I can find a new line of work and bring some stability back into my life. I’m hoping it won’t take long and that I’ll be back in no time. Ideally I want to return a week before my book publishes.

Sorry for the bad news everyone, hopefully this won’t take long.

– Raphael