6 Months of Publishing: Why I Went Indie

With Ambush Rendered approaching completion, I find myself having to look into the future and decide what’s next, which also means that I’ve also been looking back as well. All of my 2021 projects are either published or nearly published. I find myself at a sort of crossroads. Do I publish one more title before the year is over (after Ambush Rendered is released), or do I just start writing for the upcoming year and get ahead on my projects?

I definitely have chosen what my next drafting project is (What Lies Beneath), but it won’t be the next thing I publish. I have a couple of ideas bouncing around in my head, and all of them are good options. It’s just a matter of choosing a course of action.

It’s sort of strange in a way, realizing that I’ve nearly met all of my deadlines after spending the last six months reaching for one deadline after the other. I definitely would like to get ahead in publishing, but I think that’s just going to take time for me to learn how to become a faster and more efficient writer. And I’m okay with that.

With all that said, 2021 has been incredible for a lot of reasons. I’ve taken more trips than ever to see my extended family. I’ve been able to stay at home and raise my daughter. She’s reached a million milestones in the last 10, almost 11 months. She’s nearly a year old and that’s… kind of insane.

When I sit and really think about it (on a good day), I realize that I’m quite literally living my dreams. I’m a published author. I’ve actually sold books. I’m on track to have written more this year than I ever have in a single year before. I’ve had my ups and downs, but it has been incredible to look back and realize that I have everything I’ve ever wanted.

And it’s not going to end. I get to keep this life. Forever. That doesn’t mean there won’t be difficult times, but at the end of the day I still get to have all of this. When I start to stress myself out with my writing, I like to remind myself that one of the reasons why I chose indie publishing was for my family and my mental health. I needed the ability to fully control my schedule for various reasons. I don’t regret it.

Before I hit publish on my first book, I worried that I would regret it. Even after the second one, I still questioned myself sometimes. Three, nearly four, books in? I know I made the right decision for me.

I’m learning a lot about marketing and writing, even basic graphic design, and I’m having a blast. I enjoy each of these aspects of this business. Somedays I don’t want to write, but I still want to work on my career somehow, so on those days I get to just focus on learning how to market better. And on the days or weeks when my creative well is empty, I get to take a break and read as much as I want to (between taking care of my daughter).

After spending a decade learning about traditional publishing (the good, bad, and ugly parts of it), I found myself so discouraged by various aspects of it. The possibility that I wouldn’t be able to tell and share all of the stories that I wanted. The stress of still somehow answering to someone else when I was the one who did most of the heavy lifting. At some point, I realized that I was to a degree leaving my dreams in the hands of strangers, and I didn’t like that.

Neither route is perfect by any means, but after weighing the pros and cons I found that for me indie publishing was the better route if not for the only reason being that I saw hope. After finishing revisions for Traitors & Tyrants, I found myself staring down the barrel of more than likely going through at least a two year submission process. Getting an agent. Submitting to publishers. All at the risk of never being able to share the story I had spent six years of my life on. And, that denial could be absolutely arbitrary.

That made me want to quit.

I think sometimes, people think that indie publishing is a shortcut. It’s not. It’s just a different way to do it. Whether you’re traditionally published or not, there’s no guarantee your book will sell, but I’ve seen a lot of success stories in the indie publishing sphere that make me think that a lot more people are succeeding than we realize.

The year is half over, and I have accomplished so much more than I thought I would. I’m physically active. I write. I’ve published. I’m a mom. I have a husband who loves me. I am excited for what lies ahead.