Spreading Yourself Too Thin

Does that ever happen to you?  Taking on too many projects, too many responsibilities, too much information overload?

I believe at some point, it happens to us all.  And guess what?  I have found myself in that position of being spread over entirely too many different areas.  So thinly sliced that pieces are starting to fall apart.

Yep, it happens to us all.  But what do you do when you look up and realize that your head is completely buried under piles of "Things to Do" or "Responsibilities to Attend To?"

If you want to retain a modicum of sanity, you take a step back and look around and make the monumental decisions that will give you some "thickness" back to the things that really matter: family, friends, faith and God.

April 23, 2012 will mark the one year anniversary from when I hit "click to publish" on Amazon.com.  Since that time, I have completed and published my second novel with my publisher, and am currently working on two projects:  the final installment in the Eviscerating the Snake series, Adjusting Journal Entries and also a collection of short stories and poetry that will be released in about one month entitled “Ramblings of a Mad Southern Woman: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry on Life, Love, Loss and Longing.”  I went from watching a handful of sales for Accountable to None appear, along with some great reviews, to selling thousands of books worldwide.

Almost overnight, I went from being an individual that poked and puttered her way through Facebook, to one that created two fan pages, hooked up on Twitter, started this thing called a Blog, began my own BlogTalkRadio show, created a website, made an author page on Goodreads and Amazon and began reviewing novels of fellow authors.  Somewhere along the way, I learned a thing or two about the publishing industry as a whole, in particular, the self-publishing aspect, and found myself the recipient of numerous questions, most revolving around one major issue: how did you do it?

Honestly, if I knew the answer to that question, I would gladly answer it.  The truth is, I believe it was just good timing and a heavy dose of blind luck.  Regardless of how it happened, it occurred, and I was woefully unprepared to deal with the drain on all my personal time that it would have on me, as well as my family.

So, after some major soul-searching this weekend, I have decided that one area of my life that takes up a HUGE amount of my time must be culled: my BlogTalkRadio show.  Originally started as a way for me to let other aspiring authors have some free “promo” time, it has grown to the point where now, a lot of my time is devoted to setting the shows up, promoting them, and then actually hosting them.  Even though I have enjoyed every single guest and the banter with my co-host Bennet, I find myself in the position where I must pull back and regain some time to focus on not only my writing, but other areas in my life that are the most important, that have graciously taken a “back seat” during the last year.

Ah, the joys of shouldering the responsibility of promoting yourself when you don't have a huge publicity machine in the background, churning out media mentions!

As of today, I will no longer be scheduling guests.  Those listed below that are already scheduled will be the last hurrah for me in terms of my short-lived gig as an “Internet radio show host.”

Take care everyone, and remember: when things become too much, take a step back and re-evaluate where you are, and where you are going before you crash.


Penelope Crowe
Friday, April 20th @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/04/21/as-the-crowe-flies-with-penelope-crowe

William Beck
Saturday, April 21 @ 1:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/04/21/crosscurrents-with-william-beck

Betty Dravis & Barbara Watkins
Friday, April 27 @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/04/28/betty-dravis--an-evening-with-a-legend

Eric Sheldon
Saturday, April 28 @ 11:00 am CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/04/28/zombieland-with-eric-sheldon

K.t. Dixon
Friday, May 4 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/05/southern-comfort--welcome-kt-dixon

Charles Nitric
Saturday, May 12 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/13/lol-with-charlie-nitric

Eric Johnson and Andrew Utley
Thursday, May 17 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/18/eric-johnston-andrew-utley

Melody Berny
Friday, May 18 @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/19/mentoring-with-melody--berning-that-is

Terri Giuliano Long
Thursday, May 24 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/25/in-leahs-wake-with-terri-giuliano-long

Mary Ting
Friday, May 25 @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/05/26/between-the-crossroads-with-mary-ting


Charlotte Blackwell
Friday, June 1 @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/06/02/embracing-the-immortal-with-charlotte-blackwell

Perry Martin
Friday, June 8 @ 8:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/06/09/the-aussie-and-the-southerner-an-evening-with-perry-martin

Alexander Beresford
Thursday, June 14 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/06/15/alexander-beresford--oh-the-horror


Debra Borys
Friday, June 22 @ 9:00 pm CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashleyfontainne/2012/06/23/debra-borys--painted-black

Cover for my latest release designed by the incredible Lindsay Ann Kendal!