IWSG Wednesday: The Best Days are Not Behind Us

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

The best days are not behind us. At times I feel like I missed out on the good ol’ days of publishing. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my books in actual bookstores, but that doesn’t have to be such a bad thing. Online retailers are crushing bookstores one by one. I get to be part of the new revolution instead of what’s being phased out. Some mornings I feel like I missed the self-publishing gold rush of several years back. I am running near the rear of the stampede only to get lost in the kicked-up dust like so many other authors joining the chase. The market is overcrowded now and discoverability is like winning the Mega Millions jackpot. But it’s never been easy. If it was, then everyone would crank out their masterpiece to collect a quick million.

There are a lot of best practices, but there doesn’t seem to be a single secret to discoverability and becoming the next big name. It always comes back to hard work, persistence, and luck. The harder you work and more persistent you are, the luckier you tend to become. But coming back to the notion that the self-publishing gold rush is over, I recently read a blog post by Hugh Howey, who coincidently is one of the self-publishing success stories listing more indie authors able to support themselves on their craft. Go check it out and come back: Defying the Odds (And the Naysayers).

I have to admit, I’ve never heard of the authors he mentions, but I’m not looking to be famous, I’m looking to make a living as an author (a comfortable living if I may be so bold). I found the post very inspirational because these authors really began to make an impact after the so-called gold rush was supposedly over. Granted, they have been writing for quite a few years and have healthy backlogs, but that’s the real key—honing your craft over multiple books, finding your true voice, finding what it is about your storytelling that will connect with readers, and having more titles for your readers to discover, fall in love with, and tell their friends about.

The best days are not behind us. It seems like everybody has a book or two or even three, but the truly passionate authors will not stop there. They’re in it for the long haul—10, 20 books, and more—and will inevitably find their nuggets of gold because more is always out there. More readers are looking for good books every day. I only have two books out so far, but I plan on writing for the long haul. Sometimes I feel like I missed out, but I didn’t—not really. I didn’t miss out on anything because my best days are writing, which can—and should—be every day.

Talking with M. Pax

As I announced on Monday, today I am visiting with M. Pax for a special Spacedock 19 discussion about the adventures of self-publishing. Please go and check it out HERE. Thank you in advance for visiting the Spacedock. Have a seat, grab a beer (only if you're over 21, of course), and enjoy!

Thanks, Mary, for having me! It was a privilege to be invited into the Spacedock. I do hope I can return.

Hello, Insecure Writer's Support Group!

I'm not the last blog on the list any more! I was just excited to see that. This is my first post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I'm glad I found it and thankful to have the opportunity to take part. I'm fairly new to blogging and I'll use this post to talk about my adventures, struggles, and triumphs in writing over the past few years.

I came up with an idea for a YA fantasy series a little over three years ago and began writing the first book, Provex City, finishing an early draft in about a year's time. It was my first attempt to write a novel and it needed a lot of reworking. I didn't want to take classes to learn how to write a novel first and then begin writing, so I just began writing and learned along the way. Once I was in the editing phase I signed up for a novel writing class at a community class and had my original prologue critiqued (which was about 12 pages). I got an interesting mixture of comments and took many of them into consideration for future drafts of my book. For the class, my novel had a different title, and since then I have also written a completely new prologue. But that class was encouraging because it showed me that people I didn't know seemed interested in my story.

Over the past two years, I've been editing Provex City and submitting queries to agents. That was a humbling experience. I wrote about this in my first blog post, but to make a long story short, I didn't get much in the way of responses. I've read a lot about not taking it personal, but it's hard and takes its toll over time. Do I start writing a completely different novel or book two in the series I already had planned? I have a few ideas for other books, but I really want to continue with my series. That's when I decided to stop submitting and seriously look into self-publishing. There are people becoming successful by publishing direct to Kindle. And that is something I can do now instead of waiting for someone else.

I realize that the people who are really succeeding through self-publishing are the minority, but I have to believe that it's possible for me to fall into that group. Why not? If someone else can do it, then why can't I? If I write a good book and model the strategies of authors succeeding doing what I want to do, then I should be able to achieve similar results. I like what Anthony Robbins says:

How long do you give your average baby to learn how to walk? How long do you give your average baby to learn how to walk before you shut her off and don't let her try anymore? Are you kidding? My baby will try until she learns how to walk. Try until. The magic formula for success. --this is not a direct quote

I keep telling myself that. My debut novel, Provex City, will be out on Amazon in the next few weeks, first in eBook and later in paperback. I am working on increasing my online presence and building a platform. I am writing daily on a first draft of my second book in the Lorne Family Vault Series. I tell myself that it's not a question of if, but when. Try until. I will continue to write, fight, and push toward my desired direction, knowing that the valley of successful writers lies just over the horizon. Thank you for reading. I'd love to read your comments. I hope I see you again before May!

Also, be sure to check out other writers in the group (the list is posted below).