My writing and publishing journey

Then I started creating my own characters, settings, and stories. Among my unmentionables are stories of spies, angels, horsemen, demons, and witches. I have endless Word files on my computer and many old notebooks filled to the brim.

We all need a way to deal

As I got older, I started to use writing as an outlet when I was having a rough time (those teenage years were fucking brutal). Sometimes it was the only way to get things off my chest that I didn’t feel like I could tell anyone or talk to anyone about.

I don’t think anyone was surprised when I became an author. My mom least of all. Though I don’t think she expected me to be writing in the genre I am. I didn’t tell her or anyone else in my family what I was writing for a long time. It’s not something I was or am ashamed of, but I didn’t feel the need to advertise it either (it also felt private so it would feel weird to share it).

How my publishing journey started

It started with a depressed and stressed-out kid. One that couldn’t get her life together in any way. One who needed one hell of a push. I started getting coached by a friend and colleague of my mother’s (they’re both stress coaches) and during one of our sessions, she suggested I try applying a story for an anthology. So that’s what I ended up doing.

I believe my novella ended up being just above the maximum word count because I just couldn’t stop writing. This novella is called The Road Home and was published in an anthology called The Key. I later published it myself and changed the title to Unleashed: The Queen’s Curse.

Having my story selected for that anthology was such a big win for me that I went back to writing A Detached Raider, my first novel. I had been writing it on-and-off for about two years at that point, but releasing my novella lit a fire under my ass and I finished my first novel half a year after The Key was released, and I have to say it felt amazing!

Having recently gone back through A Detached Raider to clean it up and get it ready for a wide release was so damn nostalgic. This book was rough to write and publish. I got a lot of backlash for this book. People tore it apart, and I even had some threatening reviews on Goodreads.

I’ve since learned that certain places are NOT for authors and writers. Steering clear of Goodreads has given me a certain peace of mind I don’t want to be without. So if you are a new writer or author, watch out for sites like that and take care of yourself so it doesn’t affect your progress.

Having someone else look at my work

I had a few beta readers who were kind enough to spend their time reading my very raw words and giving me constructive feedback. One of them was Eric Alan Westfall (you king, you!). He tried his hardest to keep me grounded in reality which I’m pretty sure was damn hard considering I didn’t want anything to do with reality at the time. I very much wanted to live in my fantasy world where I had a modicum of control compared to the real world. Life with anxiety, am I right? If you’re into fantasy or historical gay romance, you should check out Eric’s books! You can find them here.

However, when I decided to try it again a few years ago, it went much better! These things are always very much trial and error, and the timing just has to be right. I recently took my Raiders series wide and out of Kindle Unlimited. So far, this has worked out better than I thought it would. We’ll see how it does with time. Hopefully only better, like fine wine!

Those numbers got me spinning

I was and am lucky that my dad’s an accountant. Otherwise, I think just the accounting part of this business would’ve put a halt to my dream of being a published author.

Because here’s the thing, the rules and laws are different when you’re selling outside of your own country. They’re also different if you’re earning royalties versus selling directly. Now, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! 

But trying to figure it all out is kinda like jumping into a black hole and hoping the bottom isn’t so far down you’ll break both legs when you land. It is hard and sometimes you do have to pick yourself up (not gonna lie) but in the end, it is worth it to be able to do the one thing you really love doing.

Selling directly is a whole other ballgame. You have to know things like thresholds, VAT, and exemptions. Yeah, it’s a complete mystery to most, and it doesn’t help that your local accountant can’t help with selling worldwide because they only know about selling and accounting in their own country.

You have to follow the laws of each country you sell to, but they’re hard to understand. One thing that has helped me immensely with this part of my publishing journey is buying the ebook ‘Authors Selling Direct’ by Morgana Best as well as her course. That woman knows what she’s talking about! If you’re even just considering selling direct, aka on your own website, you should buy the ebook and, only after reading it, decide if doing all that needs to be done to sell direct is worth it to you and your business!

Do I know it all now?

No. I am still very much learning. Something I have heard a lot, especially in the equestrian world, is that we never stop learning. If you think there’s nothing more to learn, you’re wrong. People learn new things every day whether they’re thirty or ninety. Things and people evolve all the time so we should always stay open to learning new things.

I hope this post has given you some insight into my earlier years, my publishing journey, and maybe even some takeaways for you to bring with you on your own writing journey moving forward. As always if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them down below! We would love to hear from you!