Actually, I think "My Journey to Publication" might have been a better title for this post...
When I was growing up, the only thing I
ever dreamed about was being a professional writer. Today Amazon sent me an
email inviting me to create an author page. This probably sounds lame to some
people, but it’s an exciting step to me. My own official author page! I realize
for self-published and indie authors that it’s an on-going struggle to get your
books out into the world, and hopefully make some money in the process.
Like every writer, I am incredibly
passionate about my work. The main reason I write is because I love to do it.
Not for the money. No, because I love creating characters. I love crafting
suspense. And I love telling stories—my
kind of stories.
Writing has always been my true
passion. This was what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to publish novels.
I dreamed of being a professional author since I was seven years old, and I
enjoy writing both adult and young adult tales.
Best-selling author, Tracy Hickman was
quoted as saying, “Don’t seek to be
published, seek to be read.”
Simple words. Great advice. It made so
much sense. Write for your readers. Write what you love. Write every day and
don’t give up.
Our dreams should give us wings. Let us
fly. Soar above the clouds. And we should never, ever have to look down. Right?
Being a voracious reader all of my
life, I believe my writing style differs from the other young adult paranormals
being published; because my stories tend to have elements of chilling suspense
weaved into the plot. Nor are my stories always focused primarily on “love.” But
there is a lot of kissing!
Yet I do write about people who fall in
love under unusual circumstances. Not because I like a conventional happy
ending—no, I write about love because I believe it’s the strongest human
emotion we possess. And sometimes my character’s choices don’t get them a happy
ending. Sometimes the endings are surprising. Sometimes bittersweet. Sometimes
they end with a cliffhanger. But I hope they are never boring or too predictable.
How did I start?
Well, like I said, I’ve been writing
since I was seven. I’ve written a lot of books over the years. Yeah, a lot of
bad books, too. I went to college, but mostly took creative writing and English
classes. I couldn’t go full-time because I had a family to look after, but I
did take various writing courses for the past ten years.
To be honest, I’ve tried three times in
my life to find a literary agent, aka the gatekeepers to the publishing world,
without success. I’ve even had a few prominent agencies request my work.
Looking back, I know what I did wrong. I didn’t have any critique partners. The
manuscript wasn’t tightened up and polished. I didn’t hire a freelance editor.
I thought it was good. Well, it sucked. Hence, the multiple rejections. Which
also sucked.
I’d like to think I’ve learned a lot
since then. I hope I have.
The turning point in my life came when,
like so many people across the United States, I lost my job. I feel into a
deep, dark depression. To escape my utter hopelessness and to be productive, I
decided to try writing again. I rewrote an old story that I still believed in,
but knew it still needed some major revision. Maybe this was a sign from God to
try to get published after all these years. I wrote every day for months, then
started query agents and editors again. No luck. More rejections.
I worked part-time and kept writing. I
started editing a manuscript that I wrote about nine years ago called,
“IMMORTAL ECLIPSE.” I did some freelance developmental editing to pay the rent.
Then I was laid off again and after a few months, my unemployment ended. I was
scared. No job. No money in my checking account and my savings account had been
closed by my bank. Zero funds.
Time to freak out. I was a single
mother with two young children to support. But no way to support them. Then I
discovered that my seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a severe and very
rare disease. The medical bills began to mount up. I needed money.
In my heart, I still didn’t want to
give up on my dream. It was all I had left to encourage me…
Once I gave up the idea of a book deal
with a New York publishing house and finding an über agent that loved my work,
I decided to look into indie publishers. Then I read about Amanda Hocking’s
success story on her blog. I was impressed and awed. She had taken a chance, so
I decided to self-publish one of my early novels. Why not? I talked it over with my family—who agreed. I had nothing
to lose. And since I was out of a job, I had time to promote my work.
Then some of my family members
announced that they wanted to start an online publishing company. And guess
what? I was the first to sign with them. Sure, they’re medium but everyone has
to start somewhere. So, they didn’t mind when I wanted to hire my own cover
artist.
Going Indie is a scary endeavor. On
occasion things don’t work out. Books don’t sell. The genre dead ends. Bad
timing. Worse luck.
But indie authors can find a medium
amount of success due to the book blogging community, which is so incredibly
supportive. And I sincerely thank the book reviewers who have embraced and
heartily praised my novels.
Although, I may never reach the success
of other self-published or indie authors, I won’t look back at my life someday
with regret. At least I’ll know I tried, and that’s something, right? You only
fail if you never try…
“If you’re waiting for the universe to provide for you, I’ve got a
feeling you’re going to wait a long time. If you know what you want, then my
advice is to confidently take the necessary steps and go get it.” – Bryan Hutchinson
So, now I need to get back to editing
and writing new stories. No reason to let these manuscripts sit on my
hard-drive. Maybe someone will enjoy reading them. Maybe not. Maybe I’ll keep
dreaming and hoping, and someday those hopes and dreams will come true. Maybe
not.
But what good are dreams if you don’t
try to make them come true? What good is trying to follow your heart if those aspirations
can’t be turned into reality?
Never
let someone else put limits on your goals or hinder your own personal dreams. I
know, I won’t…
