I've been writing novels for almost twenty years. At first, I was traditionally published by smaller publishers. I remember when my first novel was picked up by a medium sized publisher. I was ecstatic! As most newbie authors, I was under the illusion that the publisher would take an interest in the sales of my work and advertise so that I could just sit back and wait for those lovely royalty checks to come in twice a year. After all, that's how they did it in the movies. When my first royalty check arrived, I eagerly opened it. It was a check for a whopping $1. Not to be defeated, I moved my novels to a different publisher, only to have the same results. After a decade of tiny royalty checks that barely covered the cost of creating them, I took control of my writing and began making money.
I had a conversation with myself. (Most authors spend a good deal of time alone and end up talking to themselves because of it)
I had a background in graphics, had owned a small periodical magazine (which meant that I had print formatting and editing experience) and I loved to create my stories. It was clear that my publishers weren't going to do any significant type of marketing and I wasn't happy with the quality of their editing or graphics for my covers. It, therefore, made sense for me to go out on my own and become an indie author.
In 2016, when my contracts with the publisher were up for renewal, I did just that.
And I've never looked back.
Like any artist (and, yes, an author is an artist... but not only that, but remember that I also create my own book covers) I had doubts and fears about rejection to the extent that I didn't feel confident enough to enter my book for awards, etc. That all changed in 2023! I entered several books into the Reader's Favorite Review and not only received about a dozen 5-star awards to place on my covers, but one of my novels made it to their international contest that had approximately 5,000 entrants.
To my surprise, delight, and gratitude, it received the Bronze Medal.
This title is "Vampire Witch" and is book 1 of the Vampire Witch Trilogy.
If you go to Readers Favorite website, you will see the actor, Jim Carey, sporting his gold medal around his neck. As a lark, I hung my bronze one around mine :) Such fun. Such encouragement! Life is good.