Four Years of Self Publishing - What I’ve Learned and Looking Ahead

 

Last month marked four years since I began my self publishing journey. It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long already. In some ways, it’s even harder to believe that I’m still at it and still trying.

It’s been a learning journey for certain. Not just about writing and publishing, but also about myself.

A Brief Look Back

I’ve published nine stories in these four years. I’m disappointed I haven’t published more, but at the same time, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come. From being scared to death about putting myself out there, to having nine stories published. Not a big win, but a win I’ll take.

When I started this, I set out to write erotic short stories. I'd read a few books that claimed that writing short erotica would have you earning money in no time. Sounded like a good idea to me.

My first three stories, His Workaholic, Getting Her Clients and Her Holiday Fireworks, certainly revolved around sex. But they also have romantic elements and could've passed as erotic romance.

Then I wrote Her Secret Santa, which was supposed to be hot and steamy, but it didn’t turn out that way. Which was okay because I had a blast writing that story. However, instead of erotica, I’d written a romance. The Gift of Holly turned out the same.

Those stories made me realize that’s where my heart was really at, writing short romance.

After the Christmas stories, I got in my way more often than I care to admit. Struggles came in all forms. From trying to do detailed outlines to not doing any outlines, to deciding maybe I still wanted to write erotic stories, to not wanting to, and the list goes on and on.

Two years after those Christmas stories, I finally found my way back with Finding Beauty. I’ve made slow but steady progress since.

Last month I published story number nine: Beach Fling with the Biker.

What I’ve Learned

There is always something new to learn. No matter how much time and effort I put into researching writing and self publishing, there is always going to be something I missed. Or something new to learn.

Learning about writing and publishing is fun. Through it all the most valuable lessons of all are what I learned about myself.

I learned about the things that hold me back, and the things that push me forward. It seems to take forever for those lessons to sink into my little noodle brain. Something else I learned.

I’d say the biggest thing in all of this is, I get in my own way more often than not. With writing, there is no boss standing over me or issuing me orders. No one cares if I do this or not. I have to be accountable to myself, which is good and bad all at the same time.

The most valuable lesson I learned is that it is possible to overcome your fears and chase after your dreams. The best way I found to do it is to set a goal and keep my eyes on it till the end. Usually, I’m far too busy reaching the goal for the fear to come and stop me. I still have fears. We all do. They may never go away, but I’ve learned to push forward, anyway.

Moving Forward From Here

Speaking of pushing forward. Where am I going from here? The real answer is, who knows? Because no matter how much we plan, scheme or set big goals, doesn’t mean that is where we will end up.

With that said, I’ve been scheming a plan of things to come.

Lately, I’ve been going back through looking at what worked for me and what didn’t seem to work very well. Because, let’s face it, doing nine short romances in four years is not the numbers I wanted.

So I’ve been coming up with ways to ramp things up. To get more stories out, to be more productive overall. I think what set this in motion was the realization that last month was the four-year mark for me.

I’m going to do the things that worked well for me in the past and push forward to get more stories out this year. So when I look back in four more years from now, I can see how much more progress in writing, publishing and learning about myself along the way.

With all this said, exciting things are coming soon. More stories are in the works and I hope to be way more active here on the blog as well.

Here’s hoping the next four years are awesome!