My Indie Author Story

This month Amazon is celebrating Indie Authors. I've talked a little before about my journey to self-publishing but now I'll be sharing with you my full story, from the very beginning so I can tell you why I LOVE being an indie author. 

My journey really began the summer before my senior year of high school in 2009. I had a hopeless crush on a guy I had gone to school with but I didn't know if/how I should tell him. One night I had a dream about telling the boy in question and instead of action, it drove me to write. I mapped out The Haunting Love and opened a word document. 

At that time I was being homeschooled, so The Haunting Love became my senior English project. I worked on it more than I worked on any of my other school work, then one day in March 2010, a few months before I graduated I finished The Haunting Love. 

My grandmother read it and insisted that I should try to get it published. At that time I didn't know much about self-publishing and figured it was either expensive or wouldn't look/be professionally done, so I tried the traditional route. 

I entered a writing contest for first books through Delacorte Press and Random House, but sadly I didn't win. Next, I sent it to another traditional publisher and a literary agent but was turned down both times. 

Then in October 2013, I saw a girl who's stories I like on the art website Deviantart had submitted to and been contracted by a small press. I took a chance and submitted The Haunting Love to them. 

Months passed and I didn't hear anything back from them so I didn't think anything was going to come from it. Then on January 27, 2014, I received an email from the small press offering me a publishing contract. I couldn't believe it! I screamed and jumped up and down, which is really unusual for me - I'm not really the giddy, perky type. My grandmother, who has worked as a paralegal for more than 30 years read over the contract with me and we decided it was okay for me to sign. 

I was making the best and worst decision of my life. It turns out that as far as small presses went this one, which was later bought out by another small press, is an absolute nightmare. My first foray into the publishing world was met with a lot of disappointment and I'm now extremely leery of any other form of publishing except self-publishing... which brings me to the beginning of my self-publishing journey...

I did learn something. In the eighteen to twenty-four months after first contracting with the small press, I learned a lot about how the publishing world worked. I interacted with fellow writers on social media, did research on things I did not understand and purchased a book on self-publishing that told me what I had to do. 

On September 15, 2015, almost seven months to the day from when The Haunting Love was published, I self-published my novel, Finding Elizabeth through KDP for Amazon and Createspace for the paperback version. I'm not saying my first self-publishing experience was perfect, I made several silly mistakes but I learned from those mistakes. 

In my opinion, self-publishing is not something you ever can truly call yourself an "expert" at no matter what some may say. There is always something new to learn, a new process or shortcut to experiment with and that is one of the things I love most about self-publishing. 

Even between Finding Elizabeth's release in September 2015 and Out of Darkness's release in April 2016 I learned new ways to edit my manuscript, shortcuts to formatting it for ebook and paperback including how to add headers and page numbers in the footers for print books,  and new ways to market my books among other learning experiences. I experimented with Smashwords and found an expanded audience on iBooks and other ebook platforms. 

But what do I love most about being an Indie Author? 

FREEDOM

Freedom wasn't something I experienced a lot of with the small press. Self-publishing gave me the ability to set my own timeline. For some that might be an excuse to slack off, but I'm the type of person that's driven to get things done way before a scheduled deadline. Call me a perfectionist if you want, but deadlines are a scary concept for me and I fear that I will miss them so I do things right away. 

Being an indie author also gives me the freedom to have complete say in every step of the process, especially cover artwork. 

At the end of the day, being an indie author is exhausting but it is so rewarding. I have nobody to answer to but myself if I take a day off from writing. Would I pass on the opportunity if one of the big publishing houses came knocking on my door begging to publish my next novel? No, probably not but in the meantime, I love the way I do things and I love learning something new each time I confer with other indie authors and read different blogs. After all, I think you learn best through experience and moving on from your past mistakes. 

Now look at me, it's 2016, and I have three books already published, my fourth book Into the Light (Eternals Trilogy #2) is set to release on December 13, 2016 and I have another novel, Through the Fog (Eternals Trilogy #3) and a novelette, Eternal Fire: An Eternals Trilogy Novelette, set to release in Summer 2017. I never dreamed that this would be my life, but I'm embracing every learning experience and making sure my novels are as polished as possible. 

What do you love most about being an indie author? 

Me, Out of Darkness, and Lizette in 5 Words or Less

       Out of Darkness goes on sale thirty-one days from now! I can't believe my third book is already about to come out. In honor of that, I'll be doing a four-part blog series to introduce you to Out of Darkness (the first book in the Eternals Trilogy), the overall theme, a few of the characters, and a few topics important to the book. To start it all off, this week I'm going to describe myself, my book (Out of Darkness), and the main character, Lizette in five (5) words or less. Are you ready? Good, me too... mostly. 

Me (in a nutshell)

I am:

-Insane :P

-Creative

-Shy

-Observant

-Forgetful

Out of Darkness

is:

-Thrilling

-Romantic

-Full of Secrets

Lizette

is:

-Brave

-Strong-willed

-Witty

-Mischievous

Have I whet your appetite yet?

Out of Darkness is available for pre-order:

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

iBooks

Coming Tuesday April 5, 2016! 

(Paperback Edition will also be available on April 5th)

How My Writing Career Changed in 2015

        With 2015 being only twenty-seven days away from being nothing more than a memory, it is time to begin looking back on all that happened to me in terms of my writing career.
  
      I went from an unpublished author waiting for my first novel to be released to now being the author of not one, but two novels; The Haunting Love (WCP, February 17, 2015) and Finding Elizabeth (Self-Published, September 15, 2015), with the first two books in a new trilogy on deck for release in 2016.

       It's been a great year for me creatively and I continue learning more and more about the publishing world every day. It feels like I've grown so much in the past year, the seven months in between The Haunting Love's release and Finding Elizabeth's release in particular. 
  
     I've made mistakes and I've learned from them. I've been lucky enough to have experienced publishing through both a small publisher and self-publishing.
  
     Marketing didn't come naturally to me. I had to learn the fine line between promoting my book and turning people off by over promoting. It was shocking to learn it took more than my early efforts of promoting my novel on Twitter and *hoping* my publisher would promote my book to bring in sales. I guess it's true what they say: if you want something done right it's best to do it yourself.

       During the process of self-publishing Finding Elizabeth, I learned to make connections with fellow indie authors and bloggers. I can't emphasize that enough. Build a support group, make friends, and always help others whenever possible. It makes you feel so good when you can help other indie authors and it's good karma in your favor. 

        Another area of growth for me in 2015 was interacting with the public and my readers at book signings. I am quite possibly the shyest person I know. Talking in public terrifies me. I like to think of my book signing for The Haunting Love (May 9, 2015) as a trial run. It was held at a small coffee shop in a small town near where I live and 80% of my sales were to people I have known most of my life. I am grateful for their support and patronage, but I needed more exposure. My book signing for Finding Elizabeth was held at a bookstore chain I love in a medium sized city (See my blog post "A Great Place for Authors to Hold Book Events") and I thrived. It was such a positive experience. I connected with and sold to a broader group of people that I had no prior meetings with. I smiled so much I thought my mouth was going to be frozen like that forever, but I felt so empowered afterward.

       One of my favorite accomplishments of 2015 was participating in and completing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month - November 1-30, 2015). 50,000 words in a thirty day period seemed daunting at first, but I am so proud that I reached and surpassed the goal and completed my novel.

        Fellow writers/indie authors: how did your writing career change in 2015? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to head what you got up to this year! 

Writing Young Adult

Hey everyone, I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Friday morning. I'm sitting on my bed staring out the open window anxious to get out into the day. 

As you might have seen on my Facebook page early this week it's "I Read YA Week", a week devoted to people that love reading and writing young adult novels. 

From my website http://www.taylorfenner.com:

        I love writing Young Adult novels as much as I love reading them; which is obviously a lot. Sometimes it feels like so many teens these days are too busy playing video games or texting to pick up a good book but lately I've been surprised by how many kids my sister's age have mentioned they like to read. It's a comforting thought that the written word isn't dead. 

To me it's important to have strong female leads in the novels I write. Girls need characters to look up to, to aspire to be like, someone they can relate to. And I think that's what a lot of good young adult novels give these days. 

I think we should all take a minute and appreciate all of the young adult authors out there that have paved the way for new, indie authors like me. Some of the authors I idolize and aspire to be like can be found on my "Things That Inspire Me" page on my website, so feel free to check it out and look into some of the authors I like. 

Today is also #ReadOrWriteAnywhere day.  Where do you like to read? Are you a writer? Where do you like to write? Is there a certain spot than inspires you? For me I can read almost anywhere; on the couch, on my bed, in a store, at the beach... anywhere really. My preferred writing spots are while sitting in bed or sitting at the kitchen table and occasionally on the couch. But inspiration can hit anywhere... I once was inspired to write a paragraph in my upcoming novel "Finding Elizabeth" while having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. You just have to hope that you have something to write on; whether it's a napkin or the back of a receipt or a notebook you carry in your purse for such moments. You always have to be prepared. 

Well I'm just dying to get outside in the sun. Have a great Memorial Day weekend! Hopefully the weather will hold up and you'll be able to enjoy cookouts and time with your family if that's what you're into. Until next week! 

After The Book Signing... What I'm Doing Now

Hey everyone! I know this blog is outrageously late today but my website where I usually post my blog isn't letting me onto my blog app. I bet you didn't know that my blog also posts on Blogger (blogspot), did you? 

This week has been a mixture of incredibly slow and hyper fast. My book signing was last Saturday and I think it went pretty well for my first book signing. Thank you to everyone that came out; I hope that you are enjoying The Haunting Love!

Obviously Sunday was Mother's Day so my grandmother and I just hung out and watched movies. It was very relaxing. 

Q: What am I up to now that the book signing is over? 

A:        Well relaxing for the most part. I planned to get a lot of writing done in my current work-in-progress, Into the Light, this week but I got a little sidetracked. I did go over some cover options for my next novel, Finding Elizabeth though.

            I'm aiming to self-publish Finding Elizabeth this fall. It's currently being edited and I'm working on what I want to see as the cover art. To me, the cover art is the fun part. The editing part is sort of boring, but of course mandatory. Its more of a chore. 

Q: Will there be another book signing for The Haunting Love? 

A:        At this time I don't have one scheduled, but I might set one up in the next month or two. I haven't decided yet. Be sure to keep checking back for updates though. 

Q: I'm reading The Haunting Love and I love it! Will there be a sequel for Johnny, Iza, and the gang? 

A:         No. At least, there isn't one in the works right now. I felt that Johnny and Iza's story was finished at the end of The Haunting Love. Who knows though? Maybe Marco and Angie will someday get their own spinoff novel or novella? Or maybe even Aidan or Quinn... ideas, ideas...

I hope this gives you a better look at what I'm up to lately. I hope you have a great weekend! Despite next weekend being Memorial Day weekend my Friday blog will post as usual! 

Me at my book signing at The Living Room Coffee Shop in Clintonville, WI on May 9

One Week To Go + Author Interviews

From my Author Website http://www.taylorfenner.com:

Hey everyone! It's the first day of May; do you know what that means? We're that much closer to summer! Ah, I can taste the s'mores and smell the sunblock already. 

Also, as of today we are EIGHT days until my book signing at the Living Room Coffee Shop in Clintonville, WI on May 9th. I'm getting more excited by the day and I hope all of you are looking forward to it too! It should be a great event. 

In preparation for the book signing I've placed posters in local libraries (as mentioned previously) and I'm pretty sure they're still posted in 2 of the 3 libraries. You might also have seen the articles about the book signing in the Shawano Leader, Clintonville Tribune-Gazette, and Marion Advertiser. I'd like to thank them for putting the articles in for me, they all looked great! 

So now all there is to do is sit back and wait until next Saturday. The books are here anxiously waiting to be claimed, my hair is newly touched up, and my nerves haven't kicked in yet. 

In other updates I've done a couple interviews for a few different blogs over the past two weeks. Two of them have posted already with three or four more to be posted within the next three months. Here are the links if you'd like to take a look:

Awesomegang Blog: http://awesomegang.com/taylor-fenner/

Book Reader Magazine: http://bookreadermagazine.com/featured-author-taylor-fenner/

The interviews are great ways to learn a little bit more about me and how my mind works. The "Awesomegang" one is a bit more in depth, but I hope you take a minute and check them both out! 

That's all I've got for this week. I'm in the midst of working on a chapter in Into the Light, the sequel to my upcoming novel Out of Darkness, and I'm really immersed in the story. I hope you have a great weekend, and a good week next week. I hope to see you a week from tomorrow! 

What I Thought Being Published Would Be Like vs. What It's Actually Like

From my weekly blog on my author website: http://www.taylorfenner.com: 

Okay, so imagine you're a kid and you're dreaming about what you want to be when you "grow up". You love reading books and you love to make up stories so you dream of becoming an author. As you grow older you dream about what it will be like if and when you ever get published.

I don't know about other writers out there but I always thought being published would be this amazing fantastical thing where you were sent out on book tours and had a glamorous lifestyle. Even after I signed my contract with Whiskey Creek Press I had this illusion that being published would mean getting to become friends with some of my favorite authors and getting to read some of their novels before they became available to the general public. After all, you see it all the time on social media. For example, one of my favorite authors is always hanging out with other authors I love and jetting all over the world while another of my favorites is always reading books I'd love to read sometimes even a year before they're set to release.

Allow me to burst that illusion for you. I mean don't get me wrong, being a published author is amazing and beyond my wildest dreams. I never thought this would actually happen for me. But being published isn't as grand as big name authors project it to be. I was inspired for this blog after reading this blog on buzzfeed: Why Being a Debut Author Isn’t Exactly a Dream Come True. To quote the article "For a lot of writers, it will prove to be the most emotionally unsteady period of their lives." And that was true for me. I was excited and nervous, happy and scared out of my mind all at the same time. I experienced mood changes that made me feel like how a bipolar person might feel. I was so proud that my book was going to be available for the world to read while at the same time being afraid that nobody would buy my book.

All I'm really saying that being published isn't as easy and carefree as authors project it to be. For me, as an author whose publisher is a small one, it requires a lot of hard work and effort. I don't get sent on a country-wide book tour, the authors I've befriended are "indie" authors like me, and although it would be fantastic to be able to read upcoming books before they've been released; so far that hasn't happened for me.

I spend a lot of my days updating and checking my social media accounts as well as my website, answering questions from people about my novel / book signing / anything else writing related, and trying to balance self-promoting my book without being too sickening. I divide my time between promoting The Haunting Love, getting Finding Elizabeth ready to self-publish this fall (hopefully), and working on my current works-in-progress. It's at times stressful and nerve-wracking and is in itself a full-time job.

Why do I bother you ask? Because, for me writing is saying all the things I can't say out loud. It's being able to create worlds for myself to slip into and creating characters that live on in my imagination. It's my escape from my sometimes lonely life. While I have a few close friends, I've never really been that outgoing and writing allows me to live vicariously through my characters. And at the end of the day when someone tells me that they've read my book and love it; that they can relate to one or more of my characters it makes it all worth it. Are you with me?

Wow, I feel like I've ripped a vein open and bared my soul to you here, my devoted readers. And in a way, that's also what writing creatively is. I hope this shows you that although being a published author isn't nearly as glamorous as it looks, at the end of the day it's still really rewarding. I wouldn't choose anything else for myself.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend everyone! I hear it's supposed to be a somewhat nice one, at least in this little corner of the world.