The post-book blues

I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like if/when I release a book just prior to a weekend, after feeling a sense of relief, proud, and excited, I'm bummed the start of that next workweek. I wonder if this is common at all when dealing with big projects. While the book(s) themselves caused quite a bit of stress and I may have some more white hairs because of them, for me at least, writing is/was the easy part. After celebrating the finished projects over the weekend, I now have to focus on marketing the work - which, for me at least, has never been easy. While I'm not as introverted as I once was, I do refer to myself as an extroverted introvert - I may be introverted at my core, but am typically comfortable in most social settings. However, this doesn't typically include talking about myself - my work, in particular. I've always felt a tad strange when doing that. It also might be due to feeling slightly vulnerable and fearing criticism. While us writers tend to be our own worst critics, unlike most other professionals, we tend to release our own thoughts and feelings unto the masses, and due to that, are more prone to feeling vulnerable as a result. There aren't many jobs that present such a full glimpse into one's mind and heart. So while I initially might feel quite content and proud when showing others a new book of mine, once they start flipping through the pages, I begin to realize I'm essentially sharing a complete view of myself and all of the oddities and craziness which resides in me.

Also, I wonder if I feel this momentary depression following the completion of a book (or books), because when I'm working on them, that's all I'm thinking about - there's a sense of direction. Once the books are completed, I'm at a temporary loss - asking myself, "Okay, so what now?"

It could also partially be that the accumulation of all the work has finally caught up to me, and it results in a few days of mental laziness to fully recover - almost like a work hangover. In any case, it seems to be a pretty regular trend with me after I release a book - so much so, that I've gone into over-analytic mode as a result. Fortunately, it appears as if I'm doing better today than I was doing yesterday, so hopefully that trend continues, I am able to get re-energized, and market my new books with vigor. Then again, after thinking about it, perhaps it was just a case of the Mondays...