An Indie Author's Journal: The Roadmap

Fourteen years ago, I crossed the line from amateur writer to professional author with the traditional publication of my first story. At the time, I thought the only viable route to publication was the traditional one. I spent the next eight years in search of traditional agents, editors, and publishers. Many lessons were learned and somewhere along the way my feelings about the indie world changed. I’m a perfectionist at heart (what serious writer isn’t?), and I began to wonder if I could produce as good a product…if not better…than some of the books I’ve seen published over the years. So, I began to do some research. And I took the time to really think about what I wanted from this experience. Did I want to simply throw my name on some slapped together eBook so I could tell the world I added another published book to my writing resume? No. I decided I needed a roadmap to take me on my journey into the world of indie publishing. A checklist or step by step guide to take my young adult fantasy novel LUNADAR: HOMEWARD BOUND from completed manuscript to published eBook and paperback version via print on demand (POD). STEP ONE: Create a strong website to support my blog, any future book releases, and my overall author platform. It took a lot of hard work. I did a lot of trial and error to determine what worked for my website vision. I even had to work with a hosting company that lied to me and then ghosted me after they destroyed years of hard work to stay connected with my reader base. After two weeks of tears and struggles, I found several “earth angels” (my formatter, Shahbaz Awan, my author friend, Michele Blood, and a GoDaddy , Camile) who all went above and beyond to help salvage what was left of my website/blog. After reading this post, take a moment to check it out my new and improved website at https://storycatcherpublishing.com Next week I’ll share the next step I took on the road to becoming an indie publisher. I’m still in a learning curve with my new website tools, but hopefully I will be able to share the book trailer I used for LUNADAR: Homeward Bound. My ultimate goal was to prove to myself, more than anyone else, that my new company, Story Catcher Publishing, could produce a great quality book on a poor gal’s budget. I accomplished that goal and even won a few awards along the way! With a little luck and a lot of hard work, my hope is to continue “catching” and sharing great stories together for many years to come!

INDIE PUBLISHING