Victoria Barbour's Blog, page 2

Romance Writer's Weekly: August 11, 2015

Happy blog hop Tuesday, everyone! This week we're talking about what our "other" job is. Jeanne McDonald asked us: 

Outside of writing, what is your day job?  Give interesting facts about the job, and yes, Homemaker is a viable option (a very important one, I might add). What inspired you to take on this job and would you ever consider giving it to one of your characters?

Well, my day job is related to writing. As a self-published author, I work full time, all the time at this craft of mine. But it's so much more than just writing. There's accounting, marketing, design, public relations, sales, formatting, publishing, ordering, and the never, ever, ever ending stream of meetings. You see, part of my self-publishing career is mentoring others in my area (and outside of Newfoundland) on how to navigate the waters of indie publishing. How I wish I'd known someone who could help answer my questions back when I was getting started. 

If you've read my blog before you know I have a small son. In the beginning, self-publishing was a way to stay home with him. But the workload has grown so much that he now has to go out to a sitter for a good chunk of the week. It's the only way I have a chance to stay on top of things. Case in point: my sitter just took a week off, and I have accomplished nothing other than keeping us all alive. 

I'd like to say I'm a homemaker, but that's not true. Ask my husband. He'll tell you the only thing I make in this home is supper. I sure don't make it clean and tidy. When I'm in working mode, that's where all of my attention is. Just like when my son is home, I'm 100 percent devoted to being a mommy. I find it hard to balance them both. And I never find a way to balance housekeeping there.

As for Jeanne's question about giving this career to a character of mine, I don't think so. It would be too meta for me. :)

Today I'm thrilled to introduce Jenna Da Sie to the blog hop. Jenna is brand spankin' new to Romance Writers Weekly. She lives here in Newfoundland (for at least another 20 or so days!) and is working on an awesome regency romance. Let's welcome Jenna to the group by swinging over to her blog and leaving her lots of warm and welcoming comments. She also has an awesome job. 

Romance Writers Weekly: August 4, 2015

Hope everyone's summer is hot, steamy and full of fun (just like the best romance novels!). Today we're keep things short. Super short. Twitter short. The hilarious and uber-smart Xio Axelrod challenged us to faux Twitter pitch-a-thon. Pitch your WIP or latest release to us in 140 characters or less.

Here's how I'd pitch the Heart's Ease series:

Heart's Ease: A steamy small town on the coast of Newfoundland, full of ripped hockey players, scandalous rock stars, and hometown bad boys.

What a nice simple post this week. You'll have no trouble checking out the whole hop if everyone's post is as short as mine. And you can start with Sarah Hegger (who has a book on sale right now so it's totally worth your time to pop over to her site!)

 

 

 

Romance Writers Weekly: July 14, 2015

I'm so not into sports, however, I love being motivated by music, so I think I can manage today's question with ease. Susan Scott Shelley asks:

A player's walk-up song (aka Entrance Theme), whether he's heading to the pitcher's mound or the batter's box, can tell a lot about him. What song would you choose for yours?

I honestly can't imagine me "walking up" to any place that requires music (I've already gotten married so that's taken care of). So I'm doing a little creative interpretation of the question. Because for me, "walking up" in the professional sense means sitting at my keyboard and feeling the groove to write. 

Alas, this means multiple songs, because I'm very much inspired by music. But it depends on the piece I'm working on. I'm currently working on several projects but the two that seem to be the most greatly impacted by music are Alpha Wars and the fifth book in my Heart's Ease series. So that's what I'm sharing today. 

Alpha Wars

First up, my alter ego, Hannah Hunter. I'm loving this series about Irish shifters, especially the bad boys. I'm a die hard traditional music fan, so when I started thinking about the Faoladh and the Conroicht, I had no trouble imagining big burly men who love to lift a pint and sing sad Irish songs. Here's a song I've listened to a lot while writing this one, sung by The Navigators, one of my favourite Newfoundland bands. 

 Book 5 of Heart's Ease

I'm positive I've posted this before, however, nothing has changed. I was driving one morning listening to Newfoundland's own Tom Power who graces our national radio program, CBC's Radio 2 Morning. And on comes this song by Whitehorse. Bam. My hero came to life as I listened. I mean, come on.  "I'd don't have much, but I've got the good stuff." That lyric sums Will Walsh up to a T! It's my power anthem for this book, without a doubt. 

And because this book is starting to take up a lot of my headspace, it gets two songs! "I don't know where and I don't know when, but I know  we'll be lovers again." Atta boy, Passenger. This is Will's softer side. The side no one sees but our heroine. 

So there you have it. My "walk-up" songs. Now let's go see what my friend Betty Bolte has chosen. I'm always stoked about musical posts. I mean, come on. Romance writing and music? What a perfect combination. 

Also, if you've read something by me and think you know a song that sums up the feeling or mood or whatever, feel free to share it in the comments.

 

 

Romance Writers Weekly: June 23, 2015

This week there's just a handful of us participating, but there was no way I couldn't answer today's question. The ever curious A.S Fenichel wants us to discuss:

Which person living, dead, a relative or a stranger has had the biggest influence on your life/writing career? Tell us what he/she was like or how they shaped you.

This is a bittersweet post for me to write, and for those of you who have followed along with this blog since the beginning, I'm betting you already know the answer. It's my grandmother, Elizabeth Barbour. 

Part of me feels bad for singling her out, where I'm blessed to have so many wonderful supporters, especially my parents and my husband. But this is first and foremost about my writing career and how that person shaped it. And I believe that I wouldn't be a writer if I wasn't a voracious reader. And I KNOW for a fact that I wouldn't be a romance writer if it weren't for my grandmother. 

Remember the lady-like comment? This is at my sister's wedding shower. Although we didn't know it yet, we were only going to have her in our lives for another four months. And she rocked this game of walking with a book on your head. I forget how many steps but it was in the hundreds. 

As a little girl, I loved to read. My parents would often tell me to put down my book and go outside. But not my Nan. Nope. Many a lazy day was spent with her reading. Oh, we did other things. She taught me to cook, and to crochet, and to fish, and to garden, and to wrap presents. Some of these things I've become decent at, others passable, and in the case of wrapping presents, well, I remain deplorable. She also taught me to be kind, to listen, to be ladylike (when the moment suited), and to think.

I grew up next door to my Nan, and we spent a lot of time together because of that. As we all got older, she and my grandfather started spending more and more time at their house around the bay. I'd miss her a lot. But then I'd get to make the five hour drive and spend a week there as well. And that's when the serious reading time kicked in. 

Here's how a day would go with Nan, especially after my grandfather passed away, and it would be just the two of us there for a week-long stretch. 

I'd wake to the sounds of her moving around the kitchen. Maybe the washing machine would start. Or the pump would kick in. Sometimes it could be the flush of the toilet that first stirred me. But then I would lay in bed and listen to her moving around. 

My bedroom, because even though she had three granddaughters, as the eldest I always considered it mine, was at the top of the stairs. I love those stairs. They're wide. I bet three people could walk down them at the same time if you wanted. I'd sit on the top step and watch her. Most times, she'd already be sitting in her favourite chair by the big picture window overlooking a long white fence rimmed with the most beautiful flowers and a bird feeder that was home to squirrels as often as birds. Those squirrels drove her mad. But she'd be sitting there, a steaming cup of tea on the table beside her, reading. 

I'd come down, and sit in the opposite chair. Sometimes I'd have a book already started. If I didn't, she'd have a new one laid there waiting. If I'd finished a book the day before, maybe late in the evening, she wouldn't get me a new one because she knew I'd stay awake reading. I did that regardless, because my room was filled with stacks of Reader's Digest magazines which I worked my way through when there was no novel in sight. 

So what would she put out for me to read? Catherine Cookson was both of our favourites. I think I started with The Moth. And then the Mallen trilogy. The Black Velvet Gown. I might have been in grade eight, nine at the latest, when I was vacationing with some aunts. We went to the corner store and I bought The Parson's Daughter to read. It had a stunning red cover, and must have been six or seven hundred pages long. They didn't really approve of my book choice, but there it was. My first Catherine Cookson purchase all on my own. 

But she also got me into historical books. Jean Plaidy was a favourite of mine. And from time to time, she'd give me a romance. 

But I digressed for our day. And today, with the sun shining, and my coffee in a cup she gave me, I want to relive one of our days. I beg your indulgence. So we'd read for a while, and then have breakfast. Then we'd read a bit more. Maybe we'd go for a walk, or putter around outside cutting splits or bringing in wood for the stove. I'd hang out laundry, which I hated. But now do faithfully. Sometimes a friend from the bay would come over. I had three: two boys and a girl. And while I'd love playing with them, or as I was a teenager, flirting with them, I also couldn't wait for them to go home because I wanted to get back to my book. 

Between 2:30 and 4:30 it was time for the stories. All My Children and One Life to Live. They weren't my stories. I preferred Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, but those required a different channel, and the reception was terrible. Only the shows on CBC came in clear. If I wasn't outside with my friends, then I was inside. That's when she'd have me practice my crochet skills. Once my pinky would cramp up, then I'd pick up my book, grab a snack and hide away outside to read, if the flies weren't atrocious. Or it wasn't raining. Or snowing. 

In the evening, after supper and washing up, we might have a game of cards. Or watch a movie on VHS. She loved oldies, especially musicals, and therefore, so did I. She would buy up so many copies of bargain classics when she would be in town for the winter that we'd have dozens to choose from, often still unwrapped. And then, before bed, more reading. 

I didn't mean to dwell on a day so much. I wanted to tell you more about her, but I got caught up in reliving a moment in time. In a few weeks I'm going back to her place, which my aunt now has. I'm going back with two writer friends and we're having a writing retreat. I can't imagine a better place. 

I've only been there once in the nearly six years since Nan passed away. As a adult my grandmother became one of my best friends, and I miss her terribly. 

I rarely wrote when I was with her. Writing is what I did on my own, at home. When I was with her, I was learning how to write better, by reading and talking about characters and story and setting and what compelled us to keep turning the page. Because as any true book lover knows, when you find that perfect reading companion, you do more than read. You share sentences or paragraphs that hit you. You talk about what makes a book good. Why you love one more than the other. And we did that. 

The first time my grandmother met my now husband, I had insisted he had to come down the bay and meet her. I knew I had strong feelings for him. We'd been dating for maybe four months. I needed Nan to meet him. After the first day, I overheard her telling her friend, "Vicki's found the perfect man for her. She curls up on one end of the sofa reading, and he's on the other end reading. They're meant to be together." 

There's so much more I could say, but this is what matters. This is what lives in me. There's not a day goes by that I don't miss her. My biggest regret is not finishing a novel before she died. But then again, it was in tribute to her that I finally forced myself to finish. And publish. 

Thanks for indulging me in the long post. 

Now, let's go visit Jeanne McDonald and see her post. Happy blog hopping this week everyone!

Romance Writers Weekly: June 16, 2015

It's a super sunny day, where the words are flowing and the inspiration to do what I do for a living seems easy to find. So it's only fitting that today, since I'm in such a super great mood, we're asking (or rather, Susan Scott Shelley is asking):

You've been gifted with a superpower. Which would you choose, and why?

This is so hard, because on any given day, there are a lot of things I'd like to be able to do. Is it cheating to have your superpower be the power to have any superpower? It is, isn't it? So I can't do that then. 

I suppose I could be selfish and make my super power all about me, getting more work done, being able to control time, be in two places at once. That would be fun. But who's benefiting there? Mainly me. And that doesn't seem so super. 

Okay. A true superpower should be able to help people. I've been on a Daredevil kick lately, but that doesn't mean I want to be blind and have amazing powers of hearing and echo-location. I also can't imagine being like Superman, because, well, that's a lot of pressure having to save the world all the time. Although I did just get a new pair of glasses and I think they're pretty cool. 

Argh. This is hard! Okay. I'm going to be totally wishy-washy here. I love people being nice to each other, and I love the environment. So maybe my superpower could be the ability to cast love spells, or at least tolerance spells over people so that we could stop fighting each other and put more effort into the things that really matter. Imagine if we didn't need a defence budget, or a war budget, and we could put all that money into research and development for cleaner, greener ways of living? 

Is that a superpower or a pipe dream? I'm not sure. But that's it. That's what I want to be. You can call me "LadyLove". Oh, and why not use the handy comment section to weigh in on what your superpower would be, and why!

Now, I'm sure some of my RWW pals are going to have far better ideas than me. So let's go check it out, starting with the ever-wonderful Brenda Margriet.  

Romance Writers Weekly: May 26, 2015

Okay. I've clearly fallen off the blog wagon. But since my darling critique partner and fellow Newfoundlander Kate Robbins is back with the Romance Writers Weekly gang this week, I figured I'd follow my advice to her and get back to it as well.

If you've found your way here from my pal J.J. Devine, thanks for keeping up the hop. This week we're talking about how to feels to be an author, which is the most awesome job in the world, by the way. So without delay, here we go.

1. Describe that moment you first felt like a true author (not just an aspiring one).

That's a great question, and to be honest, I'm not sure. Perhaps it was at the Romance Writers' of America national conference in Atlanta in 2013. Against Her Rules had been out for about a month, and I had paper copies to give out in the goodie room. To see my book there in a room full of swag and samples and books from some of my favourite authors was pretty awesome. 

2. Name three authors who you inspire you.

Just three? Well, here we go.

Bella Andre - I was in the dark about self-publishing until I read about Bella's success. So I credit her pioneering with giving me the confidence to do it myself.

Julia Quinn - My favourite romance writer (and that's saying a lot because I love so many writers.) But it was Julia's What Happens in London that really got me seriously thinking about writing romance. I love the wit and the humour in her stories. She does things with dialogue that I aspire to. 

Christi Caldwell - Follow this author on Facebook and you'll see something amazing. She is a busy mom (twin toddlers and a child with special needs) and she's totally present in her kids lives. And still... STILL.... the number of books this woman produces is astonishing. I wish I had an inch of her energy and dedication. 

3. Describe your favorite fan moment (either you as the fan or one of your readers approaching you as a fan).

I can't pick one. Every time I meet a fan (it still freaks me out a little that I have fans!) it's amazing. I love getting emails from people who have just discovered my books, or from people anxious for the next. There's nothing guaranteed to perk up my day than a great new email. But I love going to readings and signings and meeting people who are excited to read whatever it is I'm working on. Readers are the best! And there's no way I can have a favourite because they have all made me feel like an author. Thank you!

And now, dear friends, let's hop on over to Susan Scott Shelley to see her answers. Have a wonderful week, and I'll try my best to be back next week. 

 

Romance Writers Weekly: April 7, 2015

Oh my! Another month has passed and I've not been a part of the blog hop. Time to start making this a priority again, I think! Good thing I tossed a question into the ring a few months ago. It would be terrible not to answer my own question, wouldn't it?

So here's what we're doing today. We're showing off the cast for our current work in progress, or most recent release. I don't think I've done any casting for my Forever Geek series, so today Evan, Jillian and all the Carew/Sharp crew get their day in the sun. 

I begin where any good casting director should, with our male lead. Evan Sharp is a former software engineer who now works at doing eco-friendly energy refits on heritage homes. It's sort of decision-making time for me, since Jillian thinks Evan looks like a cross between Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper. For a while I thought about the whole Bradley/Matthew/Josh Lucas doppelgänger thing and I was going to cast Josh Lucas. But he's not Evan Sharp. So I thought about what my hero needed: he needed to look good in wool sweater and plaid shirts and t-shirts, and he had to fit in with the Newfoundland landscape. Neither actor was winning until I found this picture of Bradley, and it was a no brainer. He gets the part for this shot alone. (And the ones after it don't hurt.)

He could be down on the beach in Juniper Cove right here. 

So now it seems my movie will be in black and white. This makes casting even harder. 

But I won't be denied. Let's move on to our heroine, and narrator, Jillian Carew. Jillian is a professor of Classics who has an eye for fashion and looking good. She's a high-society type of gal, used to the fine things in life. She's the polish to Evan's rough edges. At one point in Geek God, Evan says his brother thinks she looks like Anne Hathaway. Evan thinks she's more Zooey Deschanel. To me, she's neither. Evan loves her so he sees her playful nature, hence the Zooey reference. His brother is judging her from a head shot for the university, hence the Anne Hathaway comparison. But in my mind, Jillian has always been more like Krysten Ritter. She has the elegance of Hathaway, the playfulness of Deschanel, and an originality and attitude that's different. 

And there you have it. The two main characters of my Forever Geek trilogy. I couldn't find the supporting cast I needed, but really, Geek God, Geek Groom and Geek Dad are all about these two people. What else do we need?

Now hop on over to the wonderful Veronica Forand to see who she's casting. I bet they sizzle! 

 

 

Romance Writers Weekly: March 3, 2015

I love it when we have photo challenges. :) This week Elizabeth Janette asked us to share photos of our writing space. Well, this certainly is a challenge for me because I don't have a dedicated writing space. As they say, "Have laptop, will travel." So I'm going to share some photos of the various places I've taken pictures of while I'm writing in the past, plus where I'm writing today. At this moment. It's a fleeting moment. :) 

This was taken about ten minutes ago. It's my kitchen table. And it's not normally this pretty. It just happens that there was a tv crew here yesterday so the house is currently in a state of cleanliness that's only stayed this way because the wee one is at the sitter today. 

I write in my car on my iPad. 

I write in the TV room with broken toes iced with berries. Granted, this is a little unusual. But it's happened. And it proves I will write anywhere, at anytime. 

Ohhh. This is one of my favourite spots to write. I love writing in the woods. This is at my parents cabin. Interestingly, after I posted this photo on Facebook a year ago, they painted the deck. I sort of liked it like this. 

This is sort of cheating, since I wasn't writing the day I took this picture. However, this is one of my normal writing spots, and this is the view I have while I'm there. This is at our provincial museum, archives and art gallery. We call it The Rooms. I love it there. It's great for quiet writing. And it's awesome for letting toddlers run wild. 

And that's about it. If I've dashed your hopes of what a romance writer's space is like, fear not. The ever-wonderful Collette Cameron will deliver in spades. I'm a little ashamed that she is following me, because I know her writing space is so over-the-top romantic that it's going to make my willy-nillyness look even worse. I can only dream of a dedicated place to write. But when you're balancing a full time writing career with a busy toddler, well, you do what you can.  

Have a great day everyone! And make sure to make all the stop on the blog hop this week! 

Cover Reveal: Jo Richardson

It's cover reveal day for my pal, Jo Richardson. I love her books, and this cover is so warm and fuzzy that it has me wishing it was available for pre-order. Sadly, not yet. BUT you don't have to wait long to get your mitts on this gem. It'll be available March 23! Below you'll find a blurb about Cookie Cutter, as well as a sneak peek! Yay. Plus all of Jo's contact details. 

Blurb:

Iris Alden and Carter Blackwood couldn't be more different. Change-averse Iris likes her life neat and organized, while Carter's itchy feet mean he doesn’t plan to stay in the same place for long.

When Carter moves into the house across the street from Iris, to renovate it, she fights the disruption it causes in her life. Before long, though, it's not simply the house Carter's rebuilding, but Iris's heart, too.

 

Teaser:

“What are you doing here?”

It’s Carter freaking Blackwood. Of course.

He smiles that ridiculously bright, white smile of his and lets out a soft snicker. “I’m fixing a floor for a friend, what are you doing here?”

It’s completely obvious what I’m doing here, seeing as I’m carrying two huge trays of sugar cookies in my arms.

“A friend? You just moved in. How do you have friends already?” I say it a bit harsher than I probably should but honestly, how does he have friends already?  James and I were here a good six months before people started really talking to me.  It was a year before I could call any of them friends. The edges of Carter’s mouth turn down and his head dips to one side as his shoulders hunch then settle.

“People like me, I guess.”

The smug look on his face is enough to make me want to slap it.  Or kiss it.

Wait. Not kiss it. I didn’t mean kiss it. Why am I staring at his lips?

“People who don’t want to kill me that is.  Are you okay?”

I blink, and search my brain, but I’m still not quite sure what to say to him, so I extend my arms. “I brought cookies.” As soon as I say the words, I hear them. I sound ridiculous and Carter’s bright eyes crinkle with amusement.

He closes his lids and he breathes the baked goods in. Then hums. The sound of his voice sends a vibration through me and I shiver. I am eternally grateful that he doesn’t see it happen.

His eyes open slowly. When they reach mine, I’m glued to his stare like a deer in headlights.

“Those cookies smell really fucking good, Iris.”

The bedroom eyes catch me off guard and my mouth falls open so I snap it shut. I’m a buffoon with no ability to speak.

“Can I have one?” He reaches out and I balance the platter with one hand, then slap his fingers with the other while I find words. A word that is.

“No.”

“Ow.” He pulls his hand away, like a child getting reprimanded, only when we make eye contact again, he doesn’t seem child like to me.

I wouldn’t say he’s angry. He doesn’t exactly laugh, either. And his eyes gleam as he stares at me. I hate his eyes almost as much as I hate his teeth. Maybe more. Dammit, I’m staring, again.

“They’re for Ally’s class,” I tell him. “Fundraiser, I mean bake sale.” I fumble my words. He’s so frustrating.

Other works by Jo:

Cursed be the Wicked, a paranormal mystery romance, released March 2014 through Soul Mate Publishing

AMAZON | B&N | GOODREADS

Lost in Christmas, a short story included in Soul Mate Publishing’s 2013 Christmas anthology

AMAZON | GOODREADS

 

About Jo:

A movie fanatic, a writer of stories, a lover of life.

Jo grew up in Maryland with four siblings, three parents and an endless number of cousins within the vicinity – but it was too cold up North for this thin blooded girl. So today, she lives in Florida with her two girls and a husband that shares her same sense of humor and basic take on life as we know it.

Life is too short to put dreams on the back burner.

Jo tells contemporary stories with romance, humor, the supernatural, the paranormal, suspense, mystery, action and anything else she can think up.

In 2012, she wrote Cursed be the Wicked, a character driven, paranormal mystery romance that was picked up by Soul Mate Publishing and released in March of 2014. Since then, Jo has also written a couple of short stories and her recently contracted contemporary romantic comedy, entitled Cookie Cutter, is set to release on March 23, 2015 through Little Bird Publishing.

 

Social Media:

WEBSITE: http://jrrichardsonfics.weebly.com

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/author/jrrichardsonfics

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/JRRichardsonAuthor

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jofictionfreak

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/JRRichardson

Self-publishing in the digital age

“Please note: This article was originally written for the Writer’s Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador’s quarterly publication: WORD. It appeared in the Spring, 2014 issue. ”

E-books. Love them or loathe them, there’s no denying the impact they’ve had on us authors. Let’s skip over the debates around how we like to read and the fate of brick-and-mortar stores. Instead, let’s talk about the very real impact e-books have had on our ability as authors to make a genuine, real-life, livable wage as a writer.

Digital publishing has stripped away all the reasons why authors could not realistically make a living self-publishing. For the career-minded author who is interested in approaching their writing career as a business, the road to independence is paved with—well, not gold, not for all of us—but with the potential for financial stability if not all- out success.

There’s been considerable debate in the self-publishing community about earnings and sales. For the most part, we hear the success stories of the now rich and famous like Hugh Howey and Bella Andre. And we also hear the tales of woe from those who have not seen that success. The problem is that none of the booksellers have offered quantifiable data on the state of the self-publishing industry in the digital age. That puts the onus on authors to try and piece together actual evidence of what we think we know of whether it’s possible to live off the wages garnered from self-publishing.

Two recent reports are setting the indie publishing tongues ablaze with their findings, not because we are surprised but because we are finally seeing some evidence of what we believe to be true.

What are these “truths?" First, that genre fiction, especially those that can be serialized, are the current moneymakers. Second, that there are authors out there making a living wage as full-time writers.

In January, romance author Beverley Kendall released her 2013 Self-Publishing Survey. While she is the first to admit that her data is likely to have a higher number of romance authors as respondents since that is her genre, what’s significant is this finding: more than forty-eight per cent of her 822 respondents reported incomes over $10,000 for 2013. Twenty-four percent reported more than $50,000 for the year. She also made a correlation between earnings and number of books published, showing that the more books published, the higher the earnings. I’d like to insert a cheeky duh! here. Still, these findings are based on a small pool, and rely on self reporting.

In February, Hugh Howey released what might be the first earnings report based on analytical data. I’m not an expert in the science behind it, but Howey claims that he was approached by an author with coding skills who had developed some way to pull and analyze public data from Amazon. Howey’s report is full of tidbits on the self-publishing industry, and again draws the genre-fiction- equals-success conclusion, citing romance, mystery/ thriller, and science fiction/fantasy as the biggest sellers. His findings on revenue are very similar to Kendall’s. And bringing the two ideas together, marrying genre fiction with earnings, Howey says the data shows that “Indie authors are earning nearly half the total author revenue from genre fiction sales on Amazon.” 

This is where I make my full disclosure. I’m not making a living as a self-published author—yet. However, I’ve spent the past year researching, writing, planning, writing, editing, writing, learning, writing and basically working my fingers and brain to the quick to see if I can find some of the success that other authors in my genre (contemporary romance) are experiencing. That said, I know of at least one local erotica writer who recently told me that the household rent and bills are now being covered monthly by the income from her indie publications. That’s one person locally I know. (I suspect there are more out there, but it’s my experience that genre writers in this province hide themselves away in fear of stigma. But that’s another article.) I also met dozens upon dozens of others in this genre this past summer at the Romance Writers of America national convention.

Now that I’ve painted such a rosy picture and you’re wondering how to get in on this great opportunity, let’s talk about just how hard it is to self-publish and why it’s not for everyone.

I’ve devised a checklist to help you determine if self-publishing is for you:

Are you capable of writing three or more novels a year?

“Publish or perish” was never more true than in the self-publishing industry. You must be a content creator. And not all of us are. Self-publishing is a business. Not an art form.

Are you capable of either creating your own covers or paying someone who is skilled at cover creation to do this for you?

There’s nothing that screams amateur faster than a terrible cover. It takes more than knowing Photoshop to make a cover. If you don’t have the skills, pay someone who does.

Does the idea of marketing make you sick to your stomach?

If you have a checkmark next to that question above, self-publishing isn’t for you. Unless you’re prepared to take a big dose of Gravol and do it anyway. If you don’t sell your book (and by sell, I mean create buzz) no one else will. There are thousands of indie authors out there trying to find readers. A savvy indie author keeps up on current marketing trends, and isn’t afraid to promote.

Are you a multi-tasker?

Some of the most successful indie authors I’ve met work all day, every day. At the RWA Nationals, Bella Andre said her day begins with writing her daily word goal. Then it’s on to marketing. Cover creation. Editing. Talking with her editor. Meeting with her audio book team. And the day goes on.

It comes down to this. Self-publishing isn’t just about being an author. It’s about being a business owner. You need to do so much more than write, although that’s what you should be doing the most. You need to determine what’s worth the cost and what isn’t. Find ways to reach new audiences. Maintain your current readership. Juggle the business of publishing with the art of creating. 

Personally, I can’t see the traditional publishing industry disappearing. They offer a valuable skillset to the authors who need them. Frankly, I’d hate to see them disappear. Likewise, small digital presses have their merits as well. A good friend of mine, also a local romance author, is published by one of these small presses. It’s perfect for her. It’s not for me. And the beauty for us as authors in today’s publishing environment is that we have more options than ever at our fingertips to find our niche for success.

If you’re curious about self-publishing, I’d love to have a chat. Feel free to contact me. And if you’ve already started your indie journey, I’d love to talk with you, too. I believe the strength of this publishing option lies in our willingness to share our knowledge.