Self-Publishing Journey Part 2

Part 1 of my self-publishing journey

I’ve always been able to visualize stories in my head. Original ones from my mind or from stories I’ve read. One of my earliest memories of visualizing stories is looking out the backseat window as my parents drove down the road. We were on a stretch called the ridge, since bypassed by a highway. The ridge alternates between steep drops and hills. Both topographic features were heavily wooded. As we wound around the curves, between trees I saw a battleground filled with witches and wizards, casting and dodging spells. This was late 90s, before Harry Potter made it to the screens.

In college, I would start writing a story in class and never finish it. One day in class I started writing a horror story about a little boy who murdered his parents. That was all I had. I worked on this for a few periods before giving it up, moving on to another one.

The urge to write hit me at home one day, and the horror story floated to the top of my mind. I hadn’t kept what I’d previously written, so I started from scratch on my laptop. Worked on it for about a week. But I didn’t delete it. I added to it sparingly over the course of a few years, during which time I added parts about Satanic possession. I still didn’t know where I was going with it though.

Fast forward through a bunch of life changing events, including another college degree, a move and depression. I decided to give writing a legitimate shot. I picked my story back up and worked on it. Serious writing. Dedicated time. Then I hit a wall.

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Self-Publishing Journey Pt. 1

May 15, 2019 was a crazy day. After dealing with a self-publishing nightmare that delayed my novel being published, I got word that it was live on Amazon about 45 minutes before I had to leave for work.

Self-publishing house fire.

I had to shower, text friends & family who’d been asking me about the book and try to send out social media updates and a blog post. I rushed and got it all done in time for work, but I felt behind all day. I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until I was home that night. That was the end (at least to this point) of my self-publishing journey.

What I want to do now is recap where I’ve been throughout this process, from the beginning. Not only for you, but for myself. To take the time and really think about where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going.

As for where I am now, I read Little Big Brother and think it could have been written better. But after sending it to the editor, then going through it once more, I was finished with it. And it was done with me. A lot of writers recommend taking time off from a manuscript after each round of edits, just to clear your mind so you can come back with fresh eyes. Writing a book, creating something from scratch, I could still be making changes to LBB if I allowed myself. I could tweak it to death. But at that point, it was as good as it was going to get.

Part 2 of my self-publishing journey will be posted Wednesday.