Why yes, yes I do. I mean, that's why I wrote my first book, novella, whatever you wanna call it. Is it a work of award winning proportions? Does it mean I will become the next Konrath or Hocking?
Maybe, but probably not.
Let's be realistic. There are at least 4 million plus books published on Amazon alone. Some authors are traditionally published and some are indie. At this point my 1 novella and upcoming 2nd novella in my series is pretty much all I've got.
I'm the proverbial needle in a haystack.
How do I feel about that? Fine. Yes, you read this right. I'm just fine. Let me share with you why.
I've loved reading a variety of books since I was a little girl. Whatever I could get my hands on I would read. Stories would suck me in and run through my mind like a movie. As I got older I thought to myself but never really shared with anyone else, wow, I can write if I just try.
Well, finally and amazingly at the age of forty (forty is the new thirty by the way), I wrote and published my first book. That's not the amazing part, though. What was amazing is how liberating it was.
I finally felt that I was doing what I love. Suddenly the flood gates of my imagination opened and a veritable maelstrom of ideas consumed me and I had no idea what I was doing with any of it.
I discovered some of my favorite writers on Facebook and was shocked to find that they were very friendly and open to provide resources and tips for publishing my first book. I knew it would be difficult and I knew that my first book, which will probably always be my favorite, would probably be my most flawed work.
Why would it be my favorite? It's not just a story but a journey fraught with mistakes and wrong turns that I would like to share in the hopes that another indie writer reads this and feels relieved and informed.
It took me 6 months to write my first paranormal/romance/fantasy novella The Allotter: The Threads of Destiny, book 1. It's only an estimated 108 pages or a little over 36,000 words. It then took me another 2 months to daydream or hash out in my mind my content, characters, and self doubt. I fought with myself over it. It sucks! It's genius! I'll get scathing reviews. Maybe I will and in fact I did get 1 pretty terrible review. It's all a learning process. Back to the evolution of my book. A lovely friend provided a list of resources from which I found a great content editor. The price for just that process of editing was about 158.00 dollars give or take a few cents. It was an invaluable edit because I realized just how flawed my writing was. Not so much the story but how I was telling the story.
It took me another 4 months to apply the edits. Once I was done I had my sister read it. I then ran it through the autocorrect in word. Not a great idea and I will tell you why shortly. Funds were tight so I decided that I would give myself a budget-300.00 dollars and I had already spent a little over half of that. My next choice was to go with a great cover artist. I found one and she gave me exactly what I wanted for about 100.00 dollars.
Well, I thought to myself that I was doing great. I decided to go through some editing myself and attempt to do my own copy edits. Back to using Word and how it's not a good idea. It's not a god idea. I'm a nurse and I don't have an English degree and I've found that I am comma happy.
I also formatted it myself which was a pain in the butt. I figured I could do it myself, I mean, after all I am on a budget. After lots of aggravation and sleeplessness, in July 2014, I hit the publish button on Amazon and almost became sick where I sat.
I was sort of flying blind. I mean, I had lots of encouragement from other authors but they are also on their own journey and can't hold my hand. So I made a choice that may have been stupid or not, still debatable. I made it free for a few days. I wanted peoples opinions and reviews, even the not so nice ones. I figured it was an inexpensive way to hone my craft. How did it work for me?
I soon realized that copy edits by a professional were a necessity. Sure, I had over 400 downloads in just a few days and a few reviews. For the most part, the reviews were favorable but honest that it could have used a pass from a copy editor. I immediately searched and found one, resubmitted my book for cope edits, and republished it. Sure, those reviews are still there and in fact, one person even offered to amend or add to her review that she read the newly edited one but I didn't want that. I wanted honesty.
With honesty comes value and with value comes respect. So all in all I love my flawed and imperfect work and am quite proud of it. Am I rich from it?
Not at all. In fact, I'm at a deficit but I expected to be. I mean, I only finished one book (the 2nd book will be out very soon). I'm going to make a list of important things I've learned so far:
1. Write for yourself and not anyone else.
2. Have friends or family read it but also have at least content and copy edits done.
3. Have a great cover. I don't have to tell you why. Covers sell a book. Well, so does the blurb.
4. Have a great blurb describing your book.
5. Interact with readers and other authors.
6. Don't expect to become rich overnight. That ship has already sailed when indie publishing first started and there wasn't much to chose from.
7. Have patience, persistence, and dedication. Work hard and stick with it.
8. Take criticism and learn from it but don't, for the love of chocolate, don't ignore it. Take whatever it is, no matter how scathing it is or sounds and turn it into creativity and persevere.
9. When you do publish do not watch your sales every hour every day because it will consume you and make you crazy (not that I know from experience or anything).
10. Know that success doesn't necessarily mean riches. Success is how it brings satisfaction to your life and enhances everything else. I am happy and satisfied that this indie writing hobby brings me joy and in turn makes me more fulfilling in the rest of my life and relationships.
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