After years of dreaming about this, and months of working hard to make it happen, I am proud to announce that I am officially and indie author. I’m actually grateful that I lost my job due to the pandemic. It allowed me the time and energy to work on my physical and mental health, and to get my life in order. Part of that included setting aside more time to write, which eventually led to setting aside time to research the world of self-publishing. It’s been a long journey, with many setbacks, but I’m finally making it happen.
Out of the many nuggets of helpful advice I’ve received throughout this process, one that stands out to me is: treat writing like a job, not a hobby. And especially in the world of self-publishing, this could not be more accurate. Although I’ve reached out to professionals for help and hired freelancers when I needed to, I’m still doing the bulk of the work myself. I’m the one managing all the moving parts and making sure everything goes according to plan (or at least as close to the plan as I can get). I’ve never had a problem writing for hours on end, so I knew that wouldn’t be an issue. But it’s the new mentality I need to adopt – I’m not writing for myself, I’m creating a product to sell. And I was also worried that I would struggle with all of the non-writing elements involved in self-publishing. Thankfully, I’m doing well so far. And I really enjoy it. I’ve been working on marketing plans, figuring out when to hire the next cover artist or editor, emailing professionals in the business. I love the writing, but I’m falling in love with the other aspects as well. I’m going to enjoy this new career path.
My website is now live, and my short story collection is available for pre-order at select online retailers. If you like science fiction and horror, you should check it out.
