The process in which I birth a book & transparency as an indie author
Because pouring 9+ months of blood, sweat and tears into a manuscript constitutes as birth for me (and I’m skipping real birth so this is fine for me!)
As an author, I currently have one published poetry collection, two published psychological thriller novels, one finished but currently being edited YA thriller, two started projects (one novella from a trilogy and one DARK novel), two fleshed out novellas (from the novella trilogy) and one fully fleshed cozy fall novel that’s part of a series with 11 more planned out.
*side note: I’m testing the long form option for publishing blogs on the app so my apologies for lack of headers and dividers (headers aren’t an option and di
It takes me a while to get from start to finish, and it’s not easy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t spend a lot more time designing cover art that most likely won’t even end up on the cover and fantasizing about the book existing (while procrastinating doing anything that would make it exist).
I start out with just the “idea” of it all. Super simple, two sentences, usually encapsulating the vibe/aesthetic and the ‘what happens’ in the book. This is also where the obsession to create cover art comes in- that’s the aesthetic part of it all.
From there I do a loose plot to flesh it out- the event(1) that leads up to the main event/conflict(2), and the resolution(3). I fill in the spaces in between and surrounding these three main events to the plot with little notes of importance for things like subplots or important details that bring me from point A to point B.
The fun part after this is creating my characters. Their names, family trees, relationships, what they look like, what interesting things make them who they are.
After I have most of this built out, I then start the actual outline of my novel, chapter by chapter, scene by scene. I figure out the point of each chapter, then create the scenes that, added together, give us the point.
Then I write! Then I get sick of it usually halfway through and need a break (aka devour a bunch of books). When I return to write the climax I finish with a bang. Then I do a giant edit for plot holes and another for grammar, etc.
Where I’m at right now…
(Hey I found where to do Headings!!!)
Then I obsess over it sucking and pray it doesn’t, reworking the stupidest details until it’s done!
My current work and what I’ve changed
I’ve dropped “A Podcast” and flipped the spine font around because I had it wrong like a dummie. I’m so close and so ready to be done with this, and it’s my favorite cover I’ve ever designed!
Transparency with numbers in being an indie author
I’ve taken screenshots to share exactly how much I’ve done as an author over the entire time I’ve been publishing.
In the lifetime I’ve been publishing (since 2017) I’ve sold a total of 1,049 physical and digital books. The most popular is 12,775 Days:
Breakdown:
These are the 4 books I’ve officially published and they all have ISBNs. The last book exists because I stupidly used KDP to create a one of a kind children’s book for someone and now it’s existing in the book-o-sphere out of print 🙄
Kindle pages:
The lifetime of kindle pages read is 11.5k, which to me is pretty great!
Which pages of each book have been read:
I think full transparency is so important when it comes to the indie author world because there’s room for everyone and it’s not a competition. Where one book may be someone’s worst read ever, it could also be someone else’s favorite five star read. One genre isn’t everyone’s genre.
My favorite part of the indie author world is the community and the support.
I would absolutely love to hear/see other indie authors numbers and processes!