Quarterly Update
This has been such an exciting time for me: I’ve gotten my cover art; I’ve started doing promotions on TikTok and Instagram; I’ve already sent Body of Hate out to ARC readers; and I’ve already gotten my first two reviews!
My cover art was completed by Holly Lowe at Hollowe Studios, and I could not be more thrilled. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out here. Holly was great to work with and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the finished product. Seeing the art she was able to make for my book just made it feel that much more real. It reminded me of how far I’ve come - from an idea that I’ve been workshopping for 15 years (give or take) to getting ready to publish its final version. I’m proud of myself for making it this far, regardless of any level of success I might reach. I’m proud I can say that I’m accomplishing something I’ve always dreamed of doing, even if it wasn’t through traditional means. Don’t get me wrong - I’d still very much love to see my works adapted into movies or TV series and have collaborations with other artists, but even if I don’t I’d still be content with just reaching the publishing goal.
Self-promotion has been the hardest part for me. I’m rather reclusive and don’t enjoy putting myself out there, which is the same boat I think a lot of authors are in; most of us are solitary creatures that would rather sit with our creations in a dimly-lit room than mingle with hundreds of thousands of other people. In my case, I’m also hesitant to do anything showing my face or really reveal myself. Part of that stems from insecurity and low self-esteem, the other part is I don’t want it to conflict with my current day job that pays my bills. If I could get away with just a post here and there, that’d be great.
Unfortunately for indie authors, that’s not a luxury we can fully enjoy if we’re trying to make writing into a living. Marketing means coming up with new posts and pictures and videos to say to everyone, “Look at what I did! Come buy it and read it! Perceive me!” It’s constantly trying to get the attention of potential readers to let them know your work exists for their consumption. And with so many people out there writing and publishing, among the other forms of media available, you’re competing with algorithms to even be a blip on someone’s radar. Even if you’re posting routinely, you might still never reach a certain audience if you’re only on one platform.
It’s intimidating. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s hard. (At least for me.) I work a full-time job to keep a roof over my head, and that job is very mentally stimulating; by the time I get home, most days I don’t have the energy left to throw together a coherent social media post, let alone put words on a page. But I’m still here, and I’m still trying. My therapist has been a blessing throughout the process, helping ease my anxieties and reminding me it’s okay to not check every single box all the time. It’s okay to just try. It’s okay to not be perfect.
Those reminders have helped immensely, and I’ve come to treat marketing as a bit more of a fun hobby. I’ve grown to love using tools like Canva and even made a couple TikToks! I don’t have a massive amount of followers, but everyone starts somewhere. And even if I’m stuck in single digits, it’s still something I can say I tried and I did.
Towards the end of the third quarter, I sent out Body of Hate to eARC readers. I’d made my first Google Form to collect some interest and, based on suggestions I’d seen from other authors, partnered with another ARC-hosting service that would help find readers for me. I got a few bites and was excited every time I had a new person complete the signup form or download it from the site. It meant that someone saw one of only a handful of posts I’d made somewhere about my story and was willing to dedicate their free time to reading it.
Then came a couple reviews on the ARC-hosting site.
I received two reviews on there.
And they were both five stars.
Five.
Stars.
From people I had never met, who took a chance on my work. The way I couldn’t stop smiling after reading each of them and was bursting at the seams with joy. I know reviews aren’t for the authors to read. To be honest, I hadn’t even meant to read the first one - I’d just been clicking around on my book’s page on the site, saw it, and then read it. And I know not every review is going to be five stars. I know there will probably be some real hateful ones mixed in there when it’s finally released. And I’m okay with that. I’m okay with knowing I was able to make even two complete strangers fall in love with the world I created, and even if I never sell any copies (besides the ones immediate friends and family buy) I’d be okay with it.
At the end of the day, I’m writing for me. For the little girl that dreamed up all kinds of wild and fantastical characters and stories, but was scared of being judged. If I’m able to connect with people through my writing - if I’m able to bring other people joy from my writing, that would just be another layer of icing on the cake. But if I’m not, at least I can say I did right by me; I will have still made my inner-child proud, and that’s motivation enough for me.
