Grab a copy of Legends of Windemere: Charms of the Feykin for $2.99!!
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
This is 11 Books into Legends of Windemere and I’ve published those along with 2 ‘box sets’ and 5 other works since 2013. When I hit ‘publish’ for the first time, I was a nervous wreck because I didn’t know what would happen. So many questions ran through my head and they all revolved around me failing. I had no marketing plan and had only been blogging for 3 months, so I was more lost and scared than I ever dreamed. Everything I do now has stemmed from that first experience that threw me for a loop. Beginning of a Hero sold over a 1,000 copies at 99 cents within 1.5 months. I still have trouble believing it happened and never have a way of explaining it beyond dumb luck. So, why do I bring this up now?
Over the last two years, many people have talked to me as if I have my act together and don’t question myself when I publish. Somehow, I became seen as a professional who knows no fear. Forget that I published the unedited version of The Compass Key and deleted the clean version once. I nearly repeated that stupidity with The Mercenary Prince, but I quickly uploaded the clean one. The mistakes seem to stand out and have clearer explanations than the victories. My books showing up on Top 100 lists? No idea how it happened and I am happy to report that Charms of the Feykin are on a few Top 100 bestsellers now. Near the bottom of the lists, but I’ll take it since the sales are starting off slow. You’d think by now I’d remember that they start slow, but that means I have a week of stress.
The truth is that my nerves are still strained when I release a new book even though the questions have changed:
- Is this the book that will fail?
- Will people continue reading the series after this one?
- Every book sells less than the previous one, so how much will the drop be this time?
- Will the older books get a bump from this one?
- How in the world do I get reviews for these things without getting in trouble with Amazon?
- Can I ever release a book without some emergency happening right before or after it’s done? Seriously, diseases and cracked teeth seem to occur specifically around release times.
It’s surprising to some people that I get butterflies and remain on the verge of panicking after so many books. The thing is that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been at this publishing game. Even the big names have failures, so those of us in the indie scene shouldn’t expect anything else. The trick is to not let the fear win and to push ahead anyway. Write the book, edit the book, publish the book, promote the book, and repeat if necessary. Honestly, I find that moving on to another project helps settle the nerves and kill off the butterflies.
In conclusion:
Legends of Windemere 
It never gets easier! The hard work and perseverance does pay off though.
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That it does. I’ll admit I’m really curious to see if anything changes when I publish the final volume.
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I read somewhere that all authors feel like posers. I know I do from time to time. I’ve also been told that it never goes away. I choose to ignore the feeling, and keep forging ahead.
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Never really thought of myself as a poser, but I have heard the statement before. For myself, I think I’m locked in the mentality of a stumbling student who will never have a true grasp of what he’s doing or have he got here. Might be coming out of me spending more time in my head than reality.
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My feelings are similar. It’s a journey, not a destination. I like to think every work is better than the previous ones in some small way.
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Me too. I’ve been told by a few that I improve with every book. I can see it these days. Making my writing much tighter. Hope it holds when I decide to start a new series.
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I like that. I particularly like the part where you talk about the future. I was afraid you might be contemplating something drastic.
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Even if the option of publishing gets taken from me, I plan on continuing to write my outlines, characters, and books. Be a shame to let all these ideas go to waste. Reminds me that I came one step closer to fixing the superhero series. Still deciding on if I want it on Earth (requires a lot of research) or Windemere (bye-bye guns).
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I’ve considered that one too. Writing is a journey of self improvement for me. Publishing feels like the end result. I could still write them and hold them back. As long as I can get decent feedback and keep improving most of my needs are met.
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I try to remind myself that some of the biggest authors in history weren’t famous or popular until they had passed on. Not a great thought, but I take comfort in the idea that a future generation could find my work and do something with it.
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Honorable, but I’d kind of like a slice of that while I’m still around.
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Me too. Though, I’m nuts and am considering the option that I get to be a ghost. 😀 (Kidding. Mostly.)
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Author as a ghost, could make a decent short story.
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Especially if they learn how to possess people. Wonder if that’s already happened, but we don’t know because the author ghost changes his/her name every 50 years.
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I think you’re onto something.
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You’re a force, sir, and I’m motivated by your productivity and your success. I’m trying to catch up, and I’m glad to see some success for someone in the field.
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Thanks and I’ll admit to blushing. Have to admit it’s weird hearing someone mention catching up to me. I’m busy looking at people like Stephen King who have tons out there and wondering if I’ll get there. 🙂
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Jitters are universal. I had a nightmare last night that I didn’t change the name of one of the characters. (In the draft I used a real name) . Of course, I did. Still lost sleep.
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Yikes. That mistake would haunt me for eternity. Glad it was only a dream.
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Yes, me too.
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Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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