My journey to be an author

[Thomas]

Hello! My name is Thomas Cardin and I am a new Self Published author. I would like to talk a bit about WHY I went the self publish route, and what I found when I got there.

I am shy and insecure about selling myself. I knew I didn't have the energy in me to face the rejection process of finding an agent then finding a publisher--I wanted to save all the positive energy I had for writing my book and I focused on honing it as best I could.

I owe a great deal to author, Hugh Howey. I became an instant fan of his Wool books when I was somewhere between the first and second drafts of my book. I followed his journey, and it struck a chorde with me; here was this humble, personable man who knocked it out of the park--and look how open and upfront he is with his fans! Very inspiring for me and he showed me just how I could go about keeping the focus on my work and not on my self promotion.

I found beta readers by getting engaged in discussions, talking with readers--getting to know my audience. I found readers from among my friends and online aquaintances that I have known for many years. Gaming buddies who I have never met face to face but have already shared virtual lifetimes with!

I edited and edited, then proofread and honed the book some more. I painted my own covers and designed my interior graphics (helps to be an artist in my day job), learned how to do my interior layout through CreateSpace's wonderful resources. I was able to do it all myself! But that 'myself' includes friends, family (my supporting wife in particular).

The process began over two years ago and yielded a 200,000 word fantasy which I divided as cleanly as I could into a trilogy (I did that back when I was still thinking I HAD to go the traditional route--and research showed that debut authors books were rejected if they had wordcounts above a certain threshhold.)

The division of books has also allowed me to focus on the three parts individually...insuring that each was given my undivided attention and its own rich cover. It has also allowed me to test the waters, to a certain extent, with a low price point that insured someone buying the ebook versions would pay less for all three books than the typical cost of a traditionally published ebook.

At the time of this posting I am a few days away from the release of my third book and reviews have been wonderful--Better than I had ever hoped for my efforts.

There has been one drawback to this whole process that I did not see at the outset however. I am finding descrimination against Indie Authors, something I never wanted to be a target of. People in the writers group I joined after last years NaNoWriMo have cast disparaging comments my way, calling me 'prideful' and 'unwise'...when all I really have ever been was insecure and non-assertive.

I want people to look past the dividing line. What counts, all that should really count, is the story in the reader's hands.

[Paul]

Hi Thomas
Congratulations on your achievements. Your disciplined approach and hard graft has paid off and the initial response from readers is very positive, so good luck.
I myself have just self published and have not even considered trying the traditional route. I'm put off by the whole elitist attitude towards getting published and will be using my daytime skills as a salesman to sell my book.
You mention you're shy by nature, that's not a negative because If you believe in your stories then you need to practise talking about them. I spoon fed work colleagues doses of my book over a two year period with a positive outcome on book sales (Nowt better than word of mouth) and If like me you continue to herald and promote your book your confidence will soar. I'm under no illusion the traditional route would be a giant leap forward in contrast to the tiny steps of progress I'm making but I have no deadline and will never give up telling my fascinating story.
Best of Luck
Paul Johnson. Author of Flying Cats and Flip Flops. Surviving a Notorious African Prison (Amazon)
Follow on Twitter. @FlyingcatsFF

[Thomas]

Hey Paul, thank you! Best of Luck to you as well. You are right, my confidence is growing. It takes time for me. I am definitely not a salesman by nature, but I am learning how to promote.

It helps to follow paths set down by those who have gone before me. What helps most is having great feedback like you've shared.

[Willett]

Thomas,

I think everything you've said is true for most writers. Singing one's praises seems unseemly. It's not proper to say how much hard work you've put toward your craft, or how, now that you've done this work that you should be read and acknowledged. The whole process fills me with anxiety. It's like the Emperor's new clothes, but in reverse. You're the one saying how great you are, how wonderful. But somewhere in the crowd, someone's waiting to shout, "You're not so good, and you're only fooling yourself."

That said, keep up the hard work.

Willett

[Barbara]

Thomas, well done.
As for the other indies... you write for the readers, not for other writers! ;) Thank you for not trying to sell your book(s) to other writers like many of those indies do. Have you ever seen me trying to sell you my books? Nope. I want readers, not writers - although finding a few writers friends help. But I couldn't find many in the 2 years I've been indie, so I know how you feel.
Just ignore the bashing from fellow (jealous/envious) writers and concentrate on the readers! :) You're doing just fine! Happy writing!