I’ve been watching a lot of authors on YouTube, trying to find advice for my self-publishing journey. I came across a writing advice video where the lady said to write what you want to read, not what’s fun to write. I have to disagree with her. It’s not a bad thing to write what you want to read, in fact, it’s probably good advice if you want to sell a lot of copies of your book. What I disagree with, is not writing what’s fun to write.
Every time I write, I become a better writer. It doesn’t matter if what I share what I write, it still hones my skills. If something is really fun to write but might be obnoxious for someone else to read, then I’m probably still going to write it. Not only will I learn from it, but writing, at least to me, is supposed to be fun.
Maybe I’m trying to justify the kind of weird stories I’ve written, but without having written those stories, I would have less writing under my belt. I wouldn’t be as confident when I started a new project because I wouldn’t be sure if I was able to finish a full-length story. But, I’ve written four stories of over 50,000 words, and no one can take that away from me, even if no one ever reads them.
I’ve been severely neglecting this blog. Partly because July was a busy month for me, partly because I wasn’t sure what direction to take this. But, I think I’ve figured it out!
I watch a lot of Authortube, and some of my favourite videos are the ones where the author shares their journey; what they’re struggling with and what they’re having success with. So, that’s what I’m going to do with my blog. Hopefully once a week, I’ll write an update on where I am.
When this year started, I was very naive and didn’t know much about the whole revising and editing process, or the steps to self-publish. I thought it would be realistic for me to get my book self-published this year. But I’ve come to realize that that’s not going to happen. And I’m okay with that. As much as I want to get my book out into the world, I want to do it right. And I have other priorities in my life.
Right now, I’m gearing up for my second round of beta readers. My first round, I asked a few people who I knew IRL (in real life) and it wasn’t too scary. But this time, I’m having people I found on social media read for me. And in the months between the 2 rounds, I have learned and grown so much. I got a CP (critique partner) and she has given great feedback. My book is in a very good state, in my opinion, and anything negative these readers find will probably hurt a lot since I’ve put so much more work into it.
But, I will press on. I will send out the first half of my story, and wait. And then send out the second half to those still on board, and then wait again. After that, I will steal myself, and read it all through, and maybe cry inside. Or maybe I’ll cheat and look at the feedback from the first half while they’re reading the second half. Either way, once the comments have sunk in, I’ll get down to work, and polish my story up!