There is a lot of unnecessary stress involved in seeking traditional publishing. There’s even more stress for writers who don’t write according to market trends.
Indie publishing opens its arms to either; the author who writes to market and the individual. A year after I published my first indie book, I’m glad I stepped away from chasing traditional publishing.
It wasn’t easy, though. I had done all the “things” you needed for trad publishing. I entered and won contests for unpublished writers, even gaining a request for a full manuscript from my dream publisher and favorite editor. I paid hundreds of dollars a year to join a variety of author /writer associations, joined critique groups, attended conferences with editor/agent interviews, and took all the classes. I had author pages on social media, blogged for myself and others, did podcasts, and built an email list. Wrote the book proposals and the synopses. I had an agent for several years.
Maximum Stress
Doing the “things” wasn’t me and my stress level raged. In the end, I was traditionally published in a collection of true stories, Second-Chance Horses, with Revell. The lead came through my friend, not an agent.
I was so ingrained in the traditional process and believed it was the correct way to become an author that it was very hard for me to break free. Without the crutches, I felt like a failure. Having to make my own decisions seemed like a mountain that was too difficult to climb. It took me about a year before I dared take the scary leap into indie publishing. Now a year past my first indie book, I’m comfortable with the author I’ve become. Not satisfied. Comfortable. As long as there is room to grow, I’ll always seek to improve.
Four Books and Counting
So far, not counting the trad collection, I’ve published four books. Each time, I’ve made mistakes and learned something new. There will be more mistakes and things to learn, but I’m good with it.
One thing I learned in my trad journey is how many of the stressors editors and agents created. For instance, when I look back at the book proposals I wrote, I wonder how they expected an author to write an authentic marketing plan if new authors have never experienced marketing.
Marketing is a huge segment of publishing. On some days, I’d dare say it’s a way of life. Making people aware that you have books to share is the first huge step.
To be honest, with my first book, I just wanted to slip quietly into publishing. I think it must have been because I wanted to be sure I was an author. I wanted to publish and quickly fix any mistakes and screw ups before anyone saw them. (I hate screw ups and mistakes. Learning to accept them is a painful process.)
I published my first story, Remember Not, the day after I learned I had cancer. I had a few good friends who wrote reviews and two email lists; my small author page list and large one for The Riding Instructor. Facebook had canceled my personal page and my Instagram account a few months earlier, and Pinterest and YouTube were my remaining accounts. And I had my websites.
I hesitated sending fiction news to my list for riding instructors, but I took the chance that a few of them might read for pleasure. (I did and I’ve taught riding since they invented stirrups-kidding)
In the many associations I had joined, the American Horse Publications offered two press releases a month, so I learned to write a press release and utilized those. And then I began new Facebook and Instagram pages, knowing Facebook might cancel me at will.
Errors
Being the only person in my organization of one, I had to consider where I could best use my time and limited resources. I was not confident about beginning a launch team and published all four books without one. Even through my next books, I continued my sneak-in approach. Finally on the fourth book I tried a pre-order with a pre-order period of a week. People would say I did everything the wrong way , but it's the way I needed to do it. And I’m not sorry. Yes, if I had a 'do-over' and could start from where I am right now, I’d do better.
Another mistake came with Last Wish, a story I love but mishandled. Remember Not is part of a trilogy. Last Wish is not. A few years ago, a critique partner and friend I cared about died shortly after publishing her first book. I had a knee jerk reaction and refused to let the enemy take me down the same path he took my friend, so eighteen days after I published Remember Not, I published Last Wish. If I had it to do over, I’d hold off on Last Wish. It’s a great story, but I published it with no introduction. It has struggled to gain readers and reviews because I buried it beneath the trilogy. Lesson learned.
My tight budget didn’t have room for things I wanted to purchase, such as Vellum and ISBNs, or marketing tools like Publisher Rocket, or book cover designers and editors. There is a side of me that would love to purchase/pay for all of those. At one point I planned to withhold paperbacks until I had the better formatting tool and the ISBNs. It took a while to accept I had to move forward with what I had and let go of what I didn't. More than anything, I wanted my stories out where people could read and enjoy them.
Look at What Terrific Readers have Done
I never considered how I would actually feel when someone read my story. I’m overwhelmed. All three books in the trilogy, For Love & Horses, have been Amazon Best Sellers in their category. It’s fun that Remember Not and Where the Wild Ones Roam have that “100+ bought or read in past month” label, and What’s There to Love? has been #1 New Release since publishing. Plus, Remember Not and Where the Wild Ones Roam are in my local library. Three of my books have also been released as paperbacks and audio books.
All that might not mean much in the broad spectrum of well-read books or authors with 50+ books, but to me it’s wonderful. The best part, and even more humbling, are the people who have used their time to write a review. Reviews are golden gifts and I appreciate the readers who wrote them. If you are reading this and wrote a review or read one of my books, thank you.
Indie publishing is a lot of work and I’m thankful for the authors who share their experiences. You make it easier for us.
It would be hard to publish books and not have stress, but the pressure in indie publishing is self-imposed and controllable. Besides, indie publishing is fun and rewarding.
Thanks for reading my blog post,
Oh! And before I forget, want to be on the review team for my next book? There's a link to form right here!
Barbara Ellin Fox
