The Writer’s Corner (and who’s in it)

There are a lot of benefits to indie publishing–control of one’s content, cover, and pricing; higher royalties per sale; not feeling like one’s book is subject to the thousand-and-one hidden machinations that influence decisions in the publishing industry; not having one’s book go out of print…ever. The list goes on and on.

Sure, there are some downsides, like not having a ton of sales, having to do one’s own marketing, knowing that one probably has a better chance at surviving multiple lightning strikes than making a Bestseller list. But, hey, those things would also be problems for people with traditional publishing deals, too.

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Public Domain Photo by Chaplin62

I used to think there was something traditionally published authors had that I didn’t have. And, no, I don’t mean having their books on the shelves at Barnes and Noble, or–better yet–Target. No, during the days before I decided to go the indie publishing route, the days when every query letter was a little symbol of hope that maybe, just maybe something BIG would happen this time only to morph into a symbol of despair at the inevitable rejection (or better yet the countless agents who just ignored the queries–talk about setting oneself up to feel like a doormat)…during those days, I told myself that I just didn’t have anyone in my corner.

The people with their books at B&N, they had someone in their corner. They must have. They had someone who believed in them, someone in the industry…an agent, a publisher, an editor, a whole team of people who championed manuscripts and gave the writer enough momentum to push through the barriers that I kept slamming up against. In reality, I’m sure some (bestselling) writers do have people like that, whole crowds of people who fill the role of coach and cut man as the writer enters the ring with book after book.

When I did finally find an agent who wanted to work with me, I felt like I’d stormed the castle walls–or, to stick with my dominant metaphor here, I felt like I finally had someone in my corner. It was a great experience that didn’t lead to any sales but did lead to my growing as a writer. Still, when the agent and I parted ways, I felt like I was on my own again, like no one had my back.

Fortunately for me, I discovered not long after publishing my first book that I had people in my corner, too. They just weren’t people in the industry. They were friends and family at first, people who’d been in my corner all along but whose presence I’d been blind to in my focus on something BIG happening. They were my colleagues at Fullerton College who threw an amazing launch party. They were people like Mark Walsh, who jumped on board and began designing amazing covers for my books, and all my friends at the Upland Martial Arts Center who bought and read and encouraged others to do the same. And before long, there were others…readers who responded with enthusiasm to my books, strangers who read that first book and posted reviews on their blogs and elsewhere. There were people who reached out to like my Author page on Facebook or who found me on Google+. There were people who contacted me through this website to let me know they’d read and enjoyed my work. There were people who left Amazon reviews, people who told me they missed my characters when they’d finished reading, people who wanted more adventures with the same characters.

I didn’t realize it at first, but they were all pulling for me. And they didn’t have any stake in my success–no profits to be gained, no percentage of my royalties, nothing. They enjoyed my books, were happy for the little successes I’ve had, and were always, always supportive.

I won’t say it’s easy doing this. Writing is a blast, but marketing is sometimes a struggle, sometimes discouraging. And when the slow sales and no sales get me down, it’s knowing my corner isn’t empty that helps me get down to work on the next book, the next blog post, the next promo blast. I’m not alone out here, and never really was.

So, to everyone who’s reached out in one way or another, this is me reaching back with a big Thank You. It may have taken us awhile to find each other, but I’m glad we did.