I'm an author!
It is official! My ebook is now available on Amazon!!! Check out my author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/alysonoverall
I have a lot of different feelings about this.
Of course I am excited. So, so excited. But I also feel nervous and scared that people won't like it. I feel anxious to receive negative feedback. It's like I'm naked in front of a huge crowd.. I'm openly sharing a project I've put a LOT of time and effort into. I didn't quite expect this vulnerability and self-consciousness.
I think I'm self-conscious because part of me feels I should have made it longer so it could officially be considered a novel. I should have submitted to literary agents and publishers in attempt to get this all done professionally. But I opted to self-publish. And I left it as a novella. I said all that I wanted to say... there's no way I could have doubled my word count.
I chose to self-publish for a few reasons. First, I knew that my odds were EXTREMELY slim to get my book professionally published. Novellas aren't very commonly sought-after literary works. Publishers and literary agents also tend to prefer an author with somewhat of an already established career. At least, that's what I've read. I also read that many only give the author a 5-8% royalty. My goal was never, and still is not, to get rich from this. I'm not stupid. But I'm just not comfortable handing over my hard work, and earning as little as 5% of sales. Self publishing was quick. Almost instant. I uploaded the cover (made by a friend of a friend in graphic design- Krystal Reese), my Word document into an app that converted it into an ebook, and wrote a brief bio. If you ask me, that's a heck of a lot easier than waiting up to 6 months for a reply from an agent. And if I'm being realistic, potentially a year or more if the first couple rounds of submissions resulted in rejection letters.
Wow. I just reread all of that and I sure do sound like a Negative Nancy! I'm just trying to be honest and open about my mixture of emotions, as well as sharing my internal struggles on this journey.
Every time another friend or family member replies with positive feedback after finishing my book, I do a happy dance. That's what my goal was. I wanted to FINISH the story I had in my head and I wanted to share it with friends and family. And lastly, I wanted it to bring them enjoyment.
If you choose to read it, I sincerely and whole-heartedly hope that you enjoy the story. Please leave a review on Amazon if you get the chance. I so appreciate it 💞
I have a lot of different feelings about this.
Of course I am excited. So, so excited. But I also feel nervous and scared that people won't like it. I feel anxious to receive negative feedback. It's like I'm naked in front of a huge crowd.. I'm openly sharing a project I've put a LOT of time and effort into. I didn't quite expect this vulnerability and self-consciousness.
I think I'm self-conscious because part of me feels I should have made it longer so it could officially be considered a novel. I should have submitted to literary agents and publishers in attempt to get this all done professionally. But I opted to self-publish. And I left it as a novella. I said all that I wanted to say... there's no way I could have doubled my word count.
I chose to self-publish for a few reasons. First, I knew that my odds were EXTREMELY slim to get my book professionally published. Novellas aren't very commonly sought-after literary works. Publishers and literary agents also tend to prefer an author with somewhat of an already established career. At least, that's what I've read. I also read that many only give the author a 5-8% royalty. My goal was never, and still is not, to get rich from this. I'm not stupid. But I'm just not comfortable handing over my hard work, and earning as little as 5% of sales. Self publishing was quick. Almost instant. I uploaded the cover (made by a friend of a friend in graphic design- Krystal Reese), my Word document into an app that converted it into an ebook, and wrote a brief bio. If you ask me, that's a heck of a lot easier than waiting up to 6 months for a reply from an agent. And if I'm being realistic, potentially a year or more if the first couple rounds of submissions resulted in rejection letters.
Wow. I just reread all of that and I sure do sound like a Negative Nancy! I'm just trying to be honest and open about my mixture of emotions, as well as sharing my internal struggles on this journey.
Every time another friend or family member replies with positive feedback after finishing my book, I do a happy dance. That's what my goal was. I wanted to FINISH the story I had in my head and I wanted to share it with friends and family. And lastly, I wanted it to bring them enjoyment.
If you choose to read it, I sincerely and whole-heartedly hope that you enjoy the story. Please leave a review on Amazon if you get the chance. I so appreciate it 💞
Comments
Post a Comment