Coming full circle as a self-pubber

(Magan circa her first pregnancy 2010 with authors Claudia Gray, Kiersten White, and Sophie Jordan)

 

 

 

When I decided to go the indie route I was completely delusional. No joke I thought I'd put up my first alien book and be the next Amanda Hocking. It didn't exactly go that way and I went through some stages of grieft.

 

1.)  I suck

That's the first thing that went through my head. No wonder my books wont sell, I'm a terrible writer, blah blah blah. But I had a supporter group of writer friends that pushed me to keep going.

 

2.) Everyone else sucks

 

This is where it got really sticky. I put out a ton of money for ads, new covers, all this other stuff and my books didn't sell. So I started attacking other others. "How does her book sell so well? IT SUCKS!" It wasn't one of my finest moments and it just made me angry and not fun to be around.

 

3.) Maybe I'll try something else?

 

I think this was my turning point. This was the moment I decided to put out My Paper Heart on a wing and a prayer. I thought maybe it would be nice to at least have another book on my shelf and then the sales blew me out of the water. The fans of the original alien books weren't as excited about a New Adult contemporary, but from it I found a whole new crop of fans.

 

4.)  OMG this other Indie author is awesome, buy her books!

 

I'm going to have to give it up to Chelsea Cameron on this one. I approached her about being critique partners and that was when I got a sneak peak of My Favorite Mistake. I was blown away by her writing and wanted everyone and their mom to read her book. She probably just made the NY times best seller list because I wouldn't shut up about her.  (Actually she wrote an awesome book that's how she made it).

 

Yeah, it looks that simple when I write it in these four steps, but there was a lot of heartache before I came full circle. There are still days that I wonder if it's worth it to keep writing. Those are the days that I go to my Twitter or check my fan emails from people that say they love my series. I may not be one of the self-pubbers with a six figure deal or hitting the New York Times best seller list, but at this point I'm super exciting for those that have.

 

Maybe someday I'll get there, but for now I'm going to keep writing and keep being a cheerleader for all my self-pub brothers and sisters. We can only hold on to so many grudges for so long and there is no reason to be angry at someone for doing well. If I fall back down, I know my fans are there to help me back up again.

 

Have you come full circle as a writer or an author? What are your set backs?

 

 

******************************************************************************

Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised as a southern gentleman. You can find her online on her blog or purchase her books through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. She also blogs and talks about randomness here.