Limitless
I follow a lot of authors on Facebook. ��One of those traditionally published authors just released her second book, a sequel to her��debut young adult novel. ��I really enjoyed her first book and I’m very much looking forward to reading the second.
Today, she posted an answer to the question: Will there be a third book in the series?
Her response surprised me. ��She said that there would only be a third book if the second book did well and if her publishing company bought a third book. ��She went on to explain that publishing is a business and a third book depended solely on how well the second book sells.
As proud as I am to be an independent author and to exclusively own the rights to my own books, of course, I’ve always harbored a bit of envy for those authors who’ve been traditionally published. ��I want my books to have the same recognition, the same level of success, as books that have been released by big publishing houses. ��It’s a long shot to be sure, but I believe that it can be done. ��It has been done.
What really got me thinking, however, was the part about how a third book would only happen if the second book did well. ��Even if the story, the characters, demand more, if there aren’t sales to back it up, the saga ends with book two. ��Now, I’m fairly certain her second book will do just as well as the first and that a third one is all but guaranteed (at least I hope… I really liked her first book!), but her answer made me realize just how much freedom I have as an independent author as opposed to an author bound to the revenue and regulations of a big publishing company.
It doesn’t matter how well my books sell. ��I’m free to write whatever I want. ��Cemetery Tours 3 could not sell a single copy and I’d still be able to write and publish��Cemetery Tours 4. ��As an independent author, yes, I’d like to make money and yes, I’d like for this to be my career and my livelihood. ��I want to spend the rest of my life writing books. ��But I’m free to write for myself. ��I am able to write the stories I want to write, not because of money or ratings or success, but because it’s a story that needs to be written. ��As of right now, the story is incomplete,��and until it’s finished, I’m going to keep writing. ��And I realize now that I am so lucky to be able to keep writing. ��As an author, I’m limitless. ��We all are. ��And isn’t that the way art, passion, life itself,��are��supposed to be?
