My First Full-Time Year

It was just about one year ago when I put in my two weeks notice at work. Saying I was elated would be an understatement, and twelve months later, I still love what I do.

That said, it’s been a rocky transition. I’ve learned a number of things along the way, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to share them with anyone reading here:

1. Yes, you can learn how to format ebooks. This is the easiest expense to cut from producing your own work.

2. Professional cover art and editing really are worth the money.

3. Budget carefully for the above.

4. The trials of beta reading, editing, and formatting are trivial difficulties compared to trying to market a book (I’m still trying to get a handle on what actually works because it seems to vary wildly from person to person).

5. Being original and not relying on a familiar subject (zombies, vampires, or werewolves for horror writers) or a trend (zombies again) makes selling a book even harder.

6. Reviews are very tough to come by. Arrange as many as possible, preferably as far before the release date as you can because…

7. …most reviewers take a very long time to get back to you (and many never do).

And to anyone who has happened to read the excerpts I post on this blog or actually bought one of my books, a thousand thanks. I can only hope you’ll be kind enough to drop a review or just put a good word in for my work with your friends. If not, I still appreciate you just letting my words twist in your brain for awhile.