A to Z: Going Indie: J is for Joy!

 

Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

So, here's something I didn't know about Going Indie until I did it--the joy! 

I've been proud of every book I've ever written, and it definitely thrilled my little heart to see my work accepted for publication and made real into a paper book I could hold in my hands!

Me holding my first book, back in 2015

 

But there's something EXTRA EXTRA special about holding that book when you made every decision in it. It's *mine* in a whole different way than those other books were. The credit (or blame) is well and fully mine. And there's really no other word for it. It's a JOY! 

A to Z: Going Indie: I is for In-person events

 

Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

When I started my professional writing life, I wasn't thinking about the non-writing parts of the job. Things like selling my books from tables at book fairs, doing interview on podcasts, networking, publicity…wowzers. There's so much! 

But it didn't take me long to learn that in-person events are an important way a writer can build a relationship with an audience and start to develop a following. So, I embraced it. 

Now, I have accumulated a bunch of gear (a tent, several folding tables, banners, signs, bookstands, etc.) in support of "getting out there" and I use it regularly. Introvert that I am, these events do tire me out, but I've come to look forward to them all the same. 

Me selling my books at Geek and Grub

 

Talking directly to my readers helps me learn how to sell my books. Every book fair is an opportunity to hone the pitch and figure out what part of your book is the hook that will get someone to pick it up and read the back, and maybe even buy it. 

Seeing what other writers do gives me ideas about what I might like to try, too. Sometimes that's getting a better tent that's easier to put up and take down myself just like the one Brittany had. Or learning what specific kind of storage tub is both the right size to hold most books and light enough that I can still carry it (Thansk, Patrick!). Other times, it's learning about individual download codes on Bookfunnel and how I can use those to sell eBook versions of my books at in-person events (Yay! Cassie, you're a genius)!  

A few days ago, I shared my tent at an in-person event with a new author who had never done an event before. She was getting a bit "fluttery" about whether she had all the right things or not, but I reminded her that at the heart, this is very simple. If you bring yourself, your books, and a way to take payment for your books, then you're golden. The rest just makes it better and you can gather it a little at a time.  

Honestly, at this point, I really really enjoy in-person events. A little taste of fame, and an opportunity to connect directly with readers and other writers. It's wonderful.  

A to Z: Going Indie: H is for Hobby to Career

 

Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

One reason I've gone indie in my writing life is that I'm looking to up my game--to move from a sometimes-profitable hobby to a full-blown career. 

I've been working with small publishers for a decade now, and I have seen some good income and career building opportunities during this time, but—what was it Carrie Fisher said? Instant gratification takes too long? — yeah, I'm impatient. 

See, I'm full of ideas. Bursting actually. And trad publishing is sloooooooooow. The distance between "I finished my book!" and "Readers can get my book!" can be one to five years, depending on the circumstances, and whether you already have a publisher relationship or if you're in the submission trenches.  

Part of the power going indie gives me is control over my timelines. I can go as fast as I can go! So, that gives me a better chance of getting more of my imaginary friends out there in the world where you can meet them. 

I'm also in charge of marketing, pricing, distribution choices, etc. And I get the data from everything I try faster. 

So, going indie is definitely putting more work on my plate, but the payoffs are already worth it.  

A to Z: Going Indie: G is for GenX

 

Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

GenX is the famously invisible generation between Boomers and Millennials. We were born between 1965 and 1980 and currently most of us are in our 50s. The women among us are going through menopause. Sometimes we get called the "sandwich generation" too because our parents are old enough to need our care while our children (mostly GenZ) are still young enough to need our support, too, leaving us squished in the middle.

Just kidding! I don't actually hate any of you. 

 

I identify strongly with my generation, enjoying all the memes and jokes about our invisibility, resourcefulness, and independence and when I started thinking about writing romances, I love the idea of writing them for readers my age. I know a lot of people in their 40s and 50s finding love for the first time, or finding it again, and the challenges and obstacles are very different than they were when we were 20. 

In a similar vein to my Menopausal Superheroes series, which gave superpowers to fully adult women with partners, careers, and mortgages to worry about alongside dealing with their new abilities, my heroines in these GenX romances all find love while they're "going through something."  

 

• In Not Too Late, Amanda comes back to her hometown of Bellevue, Kentucky to care for her mother after a hip surgery. Who knew she'd find a second chance romance with a boy she'd known in high school while she's there! And Chris has changed A LOT since she knew him as Turbo, a skinny pimply track star. 
• Abby, the songwriter for the all-girl 80s punk band Acid Reign, was really only looking for a one-night stand to distract her from the fact that her best friend is losing her fight with cancer. But Gavin and her heart had other ideas. If only he wasn't a politician…
• Becca wasn't looking for love. This single mom had enough on her mind, with her now-grown daughter leaving for a new life in NYC, leaving her with an empty nest. David, widowed five years now, didn't really believe love would find him again. Luckily a rescue dog with muddy paws brought them together despite all their reservations, Ready or Not. 

Love finds you when it does, you know? And sometimes you're not twenty and you're already dealing with elder care, losing a friend, or facing empty nest.  

 

A to Z: Going Indie: Fact vs. Fiction

 

Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

 I've been taking my writing life seriously and really being a writer for about 12 years now. And one of the questions that continues to throw me is when readers ask if something in a book is "real." Generally they mean, is that factual? Did that actually happen? In particular to *you* the author? 

First off, um, nosy! LOL. Especially in my romance work, is it really any of your business? 

But secondly, the answer is often "Yes, but no." 

Your life and experiences are definitely fodder for your fiction, but most of us are not simply recreating our lives with the serial numbers scratched off and calling it fiction. The way I look at it is the emotional truth of a moment often pulls from my life: I've been in love, been afraid, tried new things, had to deal with unexpected dangers, faced losses, etc. But, the details don't. 

My characters are different people than I am (even if *some* of who and what they are pulls from me and people I know), so they make different choices than I would have. Plus, a lot of my work is speculative fiction, so obviously, I, a middle-aged woman limited by real-world physics, have never flown with just the power of my own body, deflected bullets, or wielded fire, even though my Menopausal Superheroes absolutely have!

 

So for Not Too Late, the first of my GenX romances (the one that officially releases on April 28! Pre-order now!), here are a few "facts" that made it into my fiction: 

• Bellevue, KY is a real place and is in fact where I grew up. The Bellevue in the book is 90% accurate to how Bellevue is in the real world (at least in my POV)
• Like Amanda, the main character, I left for college and never really came back other than for visits
• Like Amanda, I love roller skating and it was a big part of my youth
• Bellevue really has changed a lot since I lived there and does have a Thai restaurant now, which I'm very impressed by
• Bellevue also has stayed the same with my favorite candy/ice cream shop (Schneider's) and sub shop (Fessler's) still rocking the Avenue
• My fella is also a fella that I met in my youth and re-met when I was older…so Amanda and I have that second chance vibe in common. My husband is also three years younger than me, just like Chris and Amanda. 

So, I got to use a lot of my feelings and experiences, but Not Too Late is not just a retelling of my own life through a fictional lens. Writing is weird alchemy that way. 

A to Z: Going Indie: E is for Experience

 Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

When you decide to go Indie, it's easy to fall into feeling like you don't know anything. It can make the whole thing so daunting that it's paralyzing!

But the truth is that we all have experiences that can feed a creative life and skills that transfer when it comes to publishing. And I keep reminding myself that I've learned many other things over the years. This is just more new things to learn. 

So, non-publishing experience that has helped me in going indie: 

1. Graphic design: as a teacher, girl-scout cookie mom, book club leader, and so many other things, I've needed to advertise. So, I've learned to make a perfectly passable flyer, postcard, webpage, etc.  Honestly, I even think it's kind of fun. 

2. Repurposing: as a public school teacher for many years, I never had extra money, so as I've needed storage and various pieces of gear, I've gone shopping in my own house for the things I need. Turns out I already had photography lighting shoved into a closet from that year my now-grown daughter was a teenager who wanted to be a photographer. Turns out the wagon I bought for soccer practice also works great for hauling books. I guess being a packrat in some ways isn't all bad! 

3. Planning birthday parties: I'm a mom, so I've planned a few birthday parties over the years. From simple at-home parties, to venue parties, to full on destination parties. Turns out those event planning skills transfer very well to author events. And authors are easier to wrangle than children! 

 

A to Z: Going Indie: D is for Decisions

 Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs. 

 Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. 

I knew, but I didn't know, you know? 

Going in, I anticipated that going indie would put a lot more decisions in my hands that had previously been decided by my publisher: 
 

• editions to be created: paperback? hardback? audiobook? 
• release date: as fast or as slow as I'm capable of and want
• editor selection: who do I want to work with and can afford? 
• cover art: who do I want to work with and can afford? what should my cover look like? 
• layout/formatting decisions: more here than I expected: size, type of paper, font, drop caps, header style, section breaks (I'm using Vellum and going pretty basic so far)
• blurb language: I usually did write this myself, but now I have the final say
• price: this part is cool--especially if I want to discount to participate in a promotion. It's totally up to me!
• printing and distribution options: going wide? focusing on Amazon? using Ingram? Trying out other printers? 
• review copies and distribution: who gets an early peek? Do we do NetGalley or other paid services? 
• corrections/revisions to the text: getting those fixed is one my timeline now
• imprint/branding 
• author pages: website, Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, etc.  

There is a bit of decision fatigue…and it is difficult to balance time for handling all these decisions alongside actually writing and creating new work.  

Mostly, I've been pretty excited to decide on all these things. Of course, that means there's no one but myself to blame for the decisions that turn out to be bad ones, but then I get all the credit for good ones, too.