I was wrong. There is nothing easy about self-publishing, and there shouldn't be. When I delved further into the mess that is being an indie author I immediately thought, holy crap! What've I gotten myself into? Not only did I need to have a completed project to put out there, but I also needed to learn the ins and outs of self-marketing, and building an author's platform. Both of which by the way can be very daunting.
What have I learned in three years? You have to be willing to put the time and energy not only into your writing but also into learning to build your author's platform. It doesn't happen overnight, and neither,unfortunately, does self-marketing.
Where am I going with all of this? Well, today I managed to stick my neck out there and start building my newsletter list. Do I have that elusive finished project? No. But, I realized that I'm closer now to my goal than I was three years ago. So, I started plugging away at my platform.
For me, making myself accountable to my writing isn't just about consistently writing. It's about putting ALL of the efforts that I can into it, to make it work. So that my writing is something I can do and hopefully share with a fan base for years to come.
Will this make me the next Stephenie Meyer (god I hope not) or J.K. Rowling? No, but it will help me attain my goal, and in the end, that's all that really matters.
So, don't let yourself get bogged down with the overwhelming sense of it all. Make small attainable goals, and step by step, smash them into whimpering little bits!
-Write on!
