My adventures in Self-Publishing with Amazon

    It has been almost a week since I released my self-published book on Amazon and I think now is a good time to reflect. Here are my experiences.

Why I decided to self-publish Totem:

     Like so many others, I was cruising the internet looking for agents to submit my manuscript to. I did this in increments of five agents at a time. Each time I sent them out, I would sit on it and wait. When the rejection letters started rolling in, I would look at my story and make it better.
     After doing three rounds of this, finishing the second book, and beginning the third book in the series, I decided to self-publish.
     I was not getting any agent to bite. On top of that, I am an unknown author. I also know there are more stories in me. I have whole other books I want to write and I can't sit on the Totem series forever.
    I am hoping self-publishing Totem will help me in my future endeavors.

What I thought about the actual process of self-publishing:

     My advice to ANYONE who is writing a book that they know is going to be published on Amazon is to write it in the ebook format they provide. It will save you A LOT of time at the end. Besides that minor set back, the whole process was really easy.
    To top it off, any questions I had were easily answered by the hundreds of YouTube videos that break it down for you for FREE.
    In the end (after all the formatting issues were solved), it was as easy as hitting PUBLISH. Putting it into hardback was a whole other process which I would be happy to explain to anyone interested.

Release date:

    Release date came and went. Totem climbed up the chart and was actually listed as in the 26,000's that day (out of 320,000). Not too bad.
   Truth is, I expected less. I activated the Facebook page, I have a twitter account and I blog here, but I am only one tiny drop in the giant pool of web media that is created every day. I do not expect my voice to be heard.

Summary:

   This book, while I would love to see it on every book shelf I pass, is in it's purest form a labor of love and if you ask me, I feel very fortunate to have an outlet like Amazon to share my novels. Rest assure Totem is only the beginning to what I expect to be a four book series with a bunch of novellas about side characters set to be published over the next few years.
   All I can hope is that my few readers get as much joy out of reading them as I did writing them and I would recommend people use Amazon as an outlet.

Lots of love,
EM

Announcing the official release date of Totem

Announcing the release of Totem on Amazon!

      It has been a long journey with many set backs, but I am glad to have it out for people to read. I can not express how much I love my characters and their stories. I only hope that others will like them just as much. 

     Writing and publishing a book has always been a dream of mine. I am glad Amazon has provided me with the outlet to make my dream a reality.

 

     Good news! If you like the book, this is only the beginning of Kimber's journey. I am hoping to release the book 2 called Fluer de Lis this fall! 

      

      So pick up Totem available in ebook form on Amazon today!

     Are you an unlimited member? Download it for FREE! Did you buy, read it and know someone who will enjoy it? Lend it to them to read! I have made it easy for others to share my book! 

   

      I will update the page when the hard copy version becomes available for purchase on Amazon. As always, you may contact me through this blog, my facebook page, and my twitter.

Much love,

EM

Announcing the release of Totem!

      Greetings to all! After sending out the last of the queries to agents (and receiving various levels of responses), I have decided to publish Totem through Amazon. I have fallen in love with the characters and the story. I believe in my work and I want to share it with others.
     I know Totem will not be for everyone, but I have no doubt there will be people out there who enjoy reading my book. I do not want to continue sitting on this book wondering what I could do to make it better (and by better I mean what can I do to jazz it up for an agent to say "YES!"). Truth is, they may never say yes to Totem written by an unknown author.
    But what I do know is that I have something that I want to share. Not just this book, BUT the whole series. This book is only the beginning of Kimber and Ty's story. I can't wait to have people fall for them just as I have.
    So be on the look out for my first published book! Feel free to follow me on twitter or facebook as my blog will be the slowest form of communication with me, but I will continue to update this blog with my writing/editing/publishing experiences as well as answer any questions readers may have.

Much Love,

EM

Book update:

Totem

After doing a few extensive edits to my manuscript. I have decided to give it the "Ol' College Try" to get it traditionally published. I sent it out to a list of different agents in hopes that one would bite, but I fear from listening to all of the agent interviews I can get my hands on that they will deem my topic "Over Done".
That is fine. I believe in the project enough to work hard on getting it out there. That is why if I do not hear anything back with in this month, I will be going forward with publishing it on Amazon. I believe in my characters and my story. My opinion of it does not change as I read over it again and again trying to make it better.
The publishing world is one tough cookie. I understand that agents get thousands of queries a month. I understand completely. I personally would not want to sift through those e-mails and pick who's dreams I want to make come true and who I am going to let down. I do, however, sit on the other side. I am the person countlessly searching agencies, continuously reading agent bios and trying to decide if they would care an inkling about my manuscript.
As Douglas Adams once said, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."
Mr. Adams must have been trying to bring his work to as perfect as he could when he missed that deadline and I feel the same way.

So please bare with me as I take one more shot at my dreams of getting TOTEM traditionally published before I do it independently. Thank you.

Lots of Love,

EM

Helpful link for fledgling writers

I apologize. It has been a while since I have written but that is life. Writing, like any other hobby or career, takes work. You need to practice daily in order to get better. On top of writing and editing my Totem series, I have been enrolling in FREE online classes to help me become a better writer!

I have been enjoying the writing fiction class so much that I decided to share the wealth on my blog today! Here is the link to 19 courses you can utilize as a new writer!



https://www.class-central.com/report/writing-free-online-courses/

Happy Halloween!

EM

Update and helpful links

I completed writing Fleur de Lis!

     Nothing feels as satisfying as completing the last page of a book. In my case, the last page was completed months ago, I just had to connect everything in between. (I am not a linear writer. I will explain in another post sometime.)

   One of the most important things to know/understand for any writer is your book is not done after you are finished writing. Now you must edit, edit, edit. Then you will send it out to beta readers to get their input. Then edit some more. After that, let it sit for a while. Then edit again. Atleast that is my process.

   AFTER that, then I will look to send it off to agents. However, here is the dilemma. Fleur de Lis is a sequel to Totem. I have only sent Totem out to 5 agents (believe me that is not a lot) and have only received 3 rejection letters. This is ok. Getting an agent to bite is like winning the lottery. So I will continue to make Totem better while finishing the first round of edits to Fleur de Lis (have 60 more pages to edit FYI hence why I have been absent from my blog). Then, I will send off again...

   In the mean time, I continue to try and further my fledgling skills as a writer. Through some very helpful feed back, I was able to search for links and web sites to help me out and want to pass them on. Here they are:

https://www.class-central.com/report/writing-free-online-courses/

http://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/2dlgvs/how_do_i_get_better_at_showing_and_not_telling/

Best of luck and hope to have a better blog next weak!

Lost of Love,

EM   

Four Days in New Orleans was not enough!

      Our mainland visit was a three state tour where we mostly paraded around our new baby daughter. One of the stops being New Orleans where we spent four nights. My reason for a pilgrimage back to the city I love was so that I could be a bridesmaid in a family friend's wedding. It was an honor I was eager to undertake seeing as I introduced the couple and take sole responsibility (Ashley, the bride, agrees)! What I learned was that four nights was not enough time!
     Despite seeing about 100 friends I haven't seen since I moved (yes about 100) and having ample time on Bourbon Street (1 night was more than enough when you previously lived in the city for 9 years), I found myself missing the thing I knew I would miss most and that is just LIVING there.
    New Orleans is what I consider a big "small" town. What I mean is although it is a major city, it still has the small town feel. Going to the store meant potentially running into some one I know. In fact, the hairdresser doing my hair for the wedding married someone I had a class with when I was a freshman in college. It is a small, small world in New Orleans.
    Not only that, but the connections and friendships I have made are life lasting. My friends accept me as family. In fact, their families accept me as family. They have openly welcomed me into their lives and I am greeted with warmth every time I return. I would like to say that I am special. I am the exception to the rule. They welcome me into their household because I am just that awesome, but I am not. They do it for everyone. Every friend their children have becomes their friends. Then, the lasting friendships turn into family and that is something I greatly miss. I miss that sense of community. I miss that sense of family.
      Sure, Mardi Gras is a blast!!! Bourbon Street has it's moments of brilliance but has mostly faded into obscurity as I got older. The food is incredible (probably the second thing I miss most), but what I truly miss is the since of family that seems to be so embedded in the New Orleans culture.
     I attended school there. I played soccer on multiple teams. I coached soccer. I had a full time job in a big place. I did sorority alumni things and extra work in movies. I took my dogs to the dog park. I have built a whole life with a community that has a since of family and fun.
     It is a side of New Orleans that tourists do not see that I miss most. It is what gives New Orleans that extra spark that tourists see looking in but can't figure out what it is. It is a secret that they keep that outsiders don't get. Some call it Southern charm, but I like to think of it just as family. This is why I consider New Orleans to be my true home especially since it is the longest place I have lived thus far in my life (being a military brat is a lot of moving).

Lots of Love from a homesick New Orleanian,

E.M.