November 2014. Five years ago. I published my first 4 books on Amazon. They were:
- The Morning Star (The Rocheport Saga, Book1)
- Festival of Death (Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries, Book 1)
- The Moscow Affair (From the Files of Lady Dru Drummond, Book 1)
- Do One Thing For Me
The following month, December, I published 2 more books:
- The Shining City (The Rocheport Saga, Book 2)
- Trio in Death-Sharp Minor (Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries, Book 2)
And I was on my way.
Going the independent author/publisher route is a tough road to travel, because I’m it. I’m a one-man shop. A one-man band. I’m both the writer and the publisher — and have the headaches of both.
However, were I to make the choice today, knowing what I know now, I’d make the same decision. I’d be an independent operator.
Why be independent when being indie means more work? Because it’s all about the freedom. I am the captain of my ship. As Captain Jack Sparrow said, his love for the Black Pearl wasn’t about the ship — it was about freedom.
As an indie, I get to write the stories I want to write. Whether they end up selling or not.
I can publish whenever I want. There’s no publisher telling me how often I can publish. I’m my own boss.
There’s no publisher telling me what to do — or they won’t publish my book. Or they’ll stop publishing my books.
And I keep all of my rights and options and most of the money.
The writing life’s for me, and because I’m retired I have no competition from family, or the day job — and no pressure to produce so I can ditch that crappy day job.
And what’s more, after 5 years I finally have a teeny-tiny, eensy-weensy band of fans. Imagine that! Me, a balding, overweight, old guy with fans! How cool is that!
It’s my dream to some day make enough money from writing so I can buy a Rolls Royce. Although I’ll “settle” for a Bentley or an Alfa Romeo. :) That’s the dream.
The reality is that I drive a new Ford Fiesta and have a 1989 Ford Crown Victoria. I live in a small townhouse with my wife and cat, which is just the right size for us. My health is reasonably good, and I fly first class when I visit my sister. Life-Is-Good.
Oh, and I actually do make some money selling books! Life-Is-Very-Good.
It is my intention to write books until I die. And if I discovered I only had a month or two to live, with Isaac Asimov, I’d just have to write a little faster.
Marcus Aurelius wrote “Life is opinion.” Life is what you think it is. It’s all in your ‘tude. Don’t sweat the small stuff — because it’s all small stuff.
For many, many years I was not a happy camper. Then I took old Marc’s advice to heart. I swept out the crap, and got down to enjoying what I have. And being thankful for what I have.
I believe I’ve been gifted with the ability to write. That doesn’t mean I’m the best storyteller out there, because I’m not. There are plenty of my fellow indie writers who I admire, and, yes, envy. Because they are so good.
But as noted above, I do have fans. And that is such a good feeling. To know that someone out there is actually waiting for my next book to come out, well, that’s a doggone good feeling. And I’m going to give him or her the best I can give.
Now it’s on to year six. I’m excited to see what the future will bring — and even if it’s just more of the same, I don’t care. Because, life is good.
Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!
