Not checking reviews or sales.

I've now gone a full month without checking reviews or sales.

I had no idea that I was so preoccupied with them, that just checking was taking up so much psychic space.  I feel much freer. I get the urge once in a while, but then quickly forget it.

When the books were newer, each within the first six months or so of release, it was motivating to check, because they actually did better than I expected. But books tend to fall off the table around the 4th or 5th month and it was starting to become demotivating.

I don't think I managed the release of  "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl Murders" very well. I may have chosen the wrong title and cover, hard to say. I couldn't figure out how to have it listed under more than one category (I should have been able to get two at a minimum) and I just don't think I have a handle on how to optimize the Amazon search engine.

Or maybe, self-publishing just isn't going to result in sales for me. I'm unwilling to do much in the way of self-promotion.

I'm not worrying about it, but the next book I put up, I will definitely try to do better.

Anyway, not checking has refocused my attention on where it should be--the actual writing.

The one thing I didn't foresee was that the more time I let pass without checking, the more the results would accumulate, so I suspect if I check now, it will have that much more impact.

So the only real option, in a way, is to never check at all.

I wonder if I have the willpower for that.