Yesterday, while out shopping with my mom, I realized that my birthday coming up will be the one-year anniversary of a day that completely changed my life: the day I decided to indie publish. One year. Since I made the decision. In a month. Yeah, I've gone back and re-done the timeline in my head to double-check. It has only been a year since I decided to take this writing gig seriously and turn it into a job, quit querying agents, and do it myself.
I can't believe it.
When I get discouraged that I spend so many hours a week on the computer, not writing but marketing, and the sales aren't where I need them to be, I have to go back and look at how long I've been doing this.
Last year, on my birthday, I was frustrated with everything. I wanted a day away from the family. So I got my husband to drop me off in Tyler at the East Texas Romance Writer's Association meeting. I'd been a time or two and learned a lot about the craft that my husband barely indulged as a hobby. He wanted me home querrying more. He wanted me to get a book deal. He wanted me to see some monetary gain from my efforts.
November 17th, Liliana Hart was a speaker at the meeting, and she spoke about being an Indie Author, what was involved, and how it differed from Self-publishing and Traditional Publishing. And how to make money at it. That was something I could get my husband on board for.
When he picked me up from the meeting, I was high as a kite, talking about this author and how much stinking money she made. How all I had to do was go to these stock photo sites to make my cover. How I just needed to finish the other two books I'd started. How I had a business plan in my grubby little hands, I needed to act on it NOW. We talked the rest of the weekend about it, until I could tell he was irritated by the whole thing, because all he could see was how much time it would take away from the family. He imagined me up at all hours on the computer writing and facebooking.
It took a couple of months to get the schedule right. I gave myself a deadline for finishing the other two books. I looked for an editor I could afford. I jumped on the bandwagon.
I didn't do everything right. I initially published without the services of an editor, because I couldn't find an affordable one. I made my own covers (blech). But I did it. And I started marketing. And I made friends in the Indie author world.
I still haven't gotten everyone in my life totally on board, and honestly, I'm not expecting my in-laws to ever get it. Not unless I somehow start making enough for the Hubbmeister to quit working or something. The last time I spent time with my Step Mother in Law, she actually used the words, "fluke" and "flight of fancy". They're humoring me. You see, everybody knows somebody who self-published, and didn't sell any books. They're wondering how long I'll stick with it before I give up.
But I have a plan, and it hasn't even been put in place a year. I'm not giving up. And at this point, if I can make it through Christmas with the in-laws, I can do anything.
On my birthday, I'm planning something huge. I'm not sure what, yet. But it's gonna be big. So big, I'll probably regret it. But oh well. I love regretting things.
Aren't in-laws great!? It is definitely amazing to see how far you've come in the roughly six months I've been following. I can see great development in writing, editing and presentation--the last two covers are beautiful. You have the right perspective to be successful, in that you recognize you're running a marathon, not a 5k. More than a few indie authors who couldn't find a coherent paragraph with two hands and a flashlight have found success merely because their stories appeal to the lowest common denominator. Your writing doesn't appeal to masses in the same easy way, but authors like you, Penny Reid, Ashley Pullo and Andria Large raise the level of discourse in contemporary romance/erotica. So, the point of this ramble is to keep the faith. You're adding something good to the world.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah. You are correct, it's a marathon. I've never been much of a runner, so I can't come up with any suitable metaphors, but I appreciate that there are readers out there who understand what I'm trying to write.
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