This June the latest World Indie Warriors Brochure was released.
Indie Books
The brochure is packed full of indie books, their blurbs, where to buy and how to connect with the authors. But, thats not all…
Indie Services
There is a directory of service providers. These are small indie business offering services that support the indie community. It’s a great resource to discover cover designers, book formatters, editors, coaches and marketing.
Indie Products
The brochure also showcases indie businesses that make and sell their own products. This enables you to discover unique and custom items that can’t be bought in mainstream shops.
Articles
The brochure is full of useful information from start to finish. There are tips for readers and an interview with a book blogger. There is an interview with the author who won a book cover contest. And you can discover what World Indie Warriors is all about.
It’s FREE to download
If you’ve read this far, you probably want to know how to get your hands on it.
The brochure is to showcase World Indie Warrior members. To join you just need to follow them on Facebook or Instagram – they are working on a forum.
They do lots of different activities to support the indie community. For example, this month, they are doing CampNaNo on Instagram and have a goal tracker on Facebook. Being part of a team is a great way to stay motivated towards achieving whatever creative goal you set.
If you check their blog you’ll find details on how to get your content included in the next edition.
I have been following Sarah for a while on Instagram as I was intrigued to read her debut novel What Are Friends For?
So, when the opportunity to read an ARC for her new novel came up it was the perfect chance to see whether I like her writing. And, I do.
Don’t forget to join my newsletter for my own ARC sign up news!
Blurb: Out of my League
Beginning
The MC, Sophia, has dreams of getting an internship at a local Newspaper. She is famous for her article on plastic straws that activated change.
Her journalism plan involves writing for the school paper but she receives the devastating news that the School’s Board are scrapping the papers funding to buy bleachers for the baseball team.
Sophia is supposed to be finding ‘the right time’ to dump her idiot boyfriend Scott. She decides to save the school paper by writing a final article, on how toxic the Baseball team and undeserving of the funds. She delays dumping Scott to use him to get the information for her expose.
Middle
Sophia attends an end of school party with her best friend Edith. It’s at Walsh’s house, the captain of the baseball team; the baseball team that has taken her beloved newspaper’s funding.
Sophia isn’t a fan of Walsh. Scott has constantly bad mouthed him to her, highlighting his every flaw.
Scott arrives at the party, with another girl.
When he realises he’s been caught cheating, he dumps Sophia in-front of everyone and humiliates her. Walsh jumps to her rescue and claims they are secretly in love and can now be together.
Despite being a heart throb, Sophia is not into Walsh. She runs off and Walsh goes after her. He offers to be her fake boyfriend and help with the article (not knowing the angle Sophia is aiming for).
We follow Sophia infiltrate the baseball team, gathering incriminating evidence for her article. She fends off her ex-Scott’s snide remarks whilst he flaunts his new girlfriend.
In addition, Sophia’s parents are at each others throats, their ups and downs escalates to divorce. And Sophia turns to her fake boyfriend for comfort. They get close, and she discover’s Walsh’s family life isn’t perfect either.
Walsh starts doing sweet things for her, even when nobody is around to witness it. Sophia starts to fall for him and has to keep reminding herself its not real. Edith tries to persuade her to scrap the article but she can’t see any other way to save her dream of becoming a journalist.
Everything gets very messy for Sophia:
She fights with her parents that now have decided on counselling, and are having a baby.
She runs to Walsh. He confesses he knew Scott was cheating and at the party he planned for her to catch Scott out, to get back at him. Realising she was a pawn in their rivalry from the start breaks her heart. She tells Walsh about the article exposing the team cheating (paying other teams to throw the game) and storms off.
She goes to Edith’s house, and they fight. Sophia is heartbroken that Edith knew about Scott too and didn’t tell her, and Edith points out the many ways Sophia has been selfish.
Ending
Sophia has a lot of making up to do. With the support of her parents and BFF, it’s time to get back the boy she loves with a grand gesture… but, when she arrives at the pitch the game is cancelled.
She bumps into her ex, Scott. He tells her Walsh revealed the baseball team’s cheating. Scott’s new girlfriend is sick of the rivalry between the guys and dumps him.
Sophia finds Walsh speaking to a baseball scout. Despite the cheating, he still got picked. They get together. Sophia loves Walsh more than the article and scraps it.
Her parents are happy. Sophia and Walsh are happy. Then Sophia gets a call. Her teacher sent her straw article to the local paper and they love it and offer her an internship.
So many happy vibes ?.
Final thoughts…
I know nothing about baseball but that didn’t matter. This is a heartwarming sweet love story. I loved the friendship between the girls. All the characters and relationships were well developed, complex and had their own motives.
The fake relationship is believable, there was a good motive from both sides. The chemistry between the two was brilliant and I caught butterflies many times, rooting for them to kiss and realise what they have is real.
“And, just like that, the tingly sensation from my fingers, spread to my stomach.” Excerpt from Out of My League by Sarah Sutton
Sarah is one of the incredible authors you can discover in the World Indie Warriors brochure, containing full details on how to connect with her and buy her books.
I awas lucky enough to win this book. I’m so glad I did as it was a brilliant fast paced read.
Beginning
The story starts with a prologue giving an insight into the MCs background. She grew up with no idea where she came from and adopted by a loving couple (two dads). She has good memories of her adopted life but just before starting university, they died. No she is on her own.
The story starts with a seemingly ordinary day, walking onto campus to meet up with her boyfriend. But, when she arrives at the art room studio, he’s making out with his ex-girlfriend.
She runs to the library and meets her ‘library friend’. They have a heart to heart but when they separate Wren is knocked out and abducted.
Middle
When Wren comes around she is in a huge house and tries to escape. She falls down the stairs and injures her leg and is now a prisoner in one of the bedrooms.
Her abductors are not ordinary people they have powers like being able to read her thoughts. The leader of the group is Darshan. They claim they are the good guys and say her ‘library friend’ is dangerous. Wren doesn’t trust them and as soon as her legs is healed she attempts to escape again.
Once free she goes to the library to look for her friend, but she’s not there. She doesn’t feel safe and decides to go to her ex’s flat. She tells him what happened, he apologises for cheating and lets her stay. They order pizza but when he opens the door a group of attackers enter and kill him like they are vampires.
The attackers can also read her mind. They tell her that her library friend sent them to protect her from the abductors. She is to go with them. She is reluctant but goes. When she gets to their van she tries to escape. Luckily, the abductors arrive. She sees the two groups face off using their powers and is rescued. Her ribs are injured by she refuses their healing help as she doesn’t trust them.
Back at the house she was being held at, she is now curious to know more. She learns their powers could help bring down the wall in her mind and recover her lost memories. She stays because to discover who she is, is something she’s longer for.
During are stay she gets to know her captors better. She is not treated like a prisoner. On one occasion, Darshan takes her on a day out. The chemistry builds between them. He leaves her for a moment to get a drink and a psi attacks by controlling her mind and causing her to put her life in danger. Darshan saves her and they kiss.
Ending
Wes is the experienced psi trying to bring down the wall in her mind, he out ranks Darshan. She’s relaxing at the house and exhausted after one of their sessions where the wall came partially down. Now memories are returning… but, she is abducted again.
She’s taken down secret tunnels to meet with another group where all the jigsaw pieces come together.
Thoughts
This is a fast paced book and I was quickly sucked in. Wren is likeable, shes not had an easy life and is a strong character.
Natalie’s psi/vampires are unique and I wanted to know more about this underground world and how they operate. Readers discover them along with Wren, and the information is revealed in a way that feels natural.
There is a little romance and the chemistry was great but it’s not the focal point of the story. This is more of an action paced novel with a mystery to resolve.
The book has a good conclusion. It is the first in a series and I can see the scope for more stories in this world and I would want to read more.
Have you seen my #footstack pic on Instagram? Check out the feed @Nic_Reads_Inheels for my heel stack inspiration.
I only discovered #footstack very recently. It is a pic of someone balancing books on their shoes. When the #CampNanoWIW prompt was a #shelfie pic, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
I had so much fun doing this. And, when I posted it people asked, are they your legs, your books, your pic, how?
The answer is Yes and this is how.
The original pic
I wasn’t going to share this pic but here you go.
Unedited #FootStack
The books I bought from Amazon, Book Festivals or won on Instagram. They are all from my never ending TBR pile.
Since having children, I don’t have many heels. I also tidied away the ones I did have and have no idea where I put them. These shoes are my work ones from Clarks.
The red stockings were bought years ago from Ann Summers, back when I felt more daring, and haven’t been seen outside the bedroom. ;)
I did need help to get this pic. My husband stacked the books whilst I giggled upside down and tried to hold steady. My selection was rather ambitious and I realised this was my limit… no more books.
He then took the pic for me. He actually took quite a few as we tested my balancing skills at different degrees of steepness. We found it looks better the straighter my leg are. Posing like this was a full on workout.
How I edited the pic
Pic Monkey App
I used the Pic Monkey App to remove the background using their Cut Out, Smart, tool. It was super easy.
Unsplash
Unsplash is my favourite site to get free photos. I found this photo of a pretty yellow wall by Mona Eendra from Copenhagen. Yellow is one of my brand colours so this was perfect.
Pretty yellow wall from Unsplash
Photoshop Mix App
This app enables you to layer images together. I created a project and added the wall as my first layer, then my cut out image as the second layer. I then cropped it to a square and adjusted the two layers until I was happy with the positioning.
I had never used this app before and it was very straight forward. I figured it out without watching the tutorials. But, I’m going to return to watch them later to discover more.
Instagram App
The final edit was done using IG’s filter Clarendon. Then, I added my comment and tags and posted it.
The book I received was an ARC copy through Net Galley. The copy had a few typos but it didn’t detract from how incredible this book is.
The novel deals with some very serious issues; bullying, cyber bullying, mental health, bereavement, and suicide. If these are triggers for you then you should avoid but if not… THIS IS A MUST READ!
The Beginning
The book is told in first person from three characters.
Each chapter starts in italics with Al’s thoughts. But, Al has gone. He’s dead. He commit suicide.
Nathan is the younger brother of Al. Nathan is in shock and blaming himself. Not only did he find the body but he ignored a phone call from Al. In addition, Al’s death doesn’t make sense. Nathan obsesses with wanting answers.
Megan was in Al’s art class. Megan liked Al, he understood her better than her long term best friend, Tara. But, Al isn’t considered popular so she kept their friendship hidden from others. When Al dies she creates a Facebook page to honour him, much to the surprise of Tara.
The Middle
Nathan unlocks Al’s phone and finds texts between Al and a girl, Sophie. He never knew Al had a girlfriend. It looks like they broke up suddenly. He notices Al has drawn her in pictures and tries to contact her to find out more, but can’t get hold of her.
Nathan finds other secrets in Al’s paintings. He believes Al was trying to tell them what happened. There’s a symbol drawn over and over. Nathan’s family encourage his to drop it. But, Nathan can’t let it go. What does the symbol mean?
Megan feels guilty for not being a better friend to Al. His absence forces her to face how Tara isn’t really her friend. Tara is always with her boyfriend Eli who enjoys making fun of Megan. And, Tara isn’t much better.
Megan decides to make a Facebook page in Al’s memory. When she sees Al’s younger brother she let’s him know. The page is positive with people sharing their condolences.
Nathan sees a comment on the page from Lewis saying he’s sorry. Nathan tries to find out what Lewis is sorry for. Lewis used to be Al’s best mate but they stopped hanging out together. Lewis began hanging out with Eli, someone with a very bad reputation. Nathan wants to know why but whenever he tries to speak to Lewis, Eli gets aggressive. This fuels Nathan’s suspicion and anger with Lewis.
The Facebook page starts to attract the wrong attention. People make fun of Al’s appearance and making fun of his suicide. Nathan is upset by the comments and blames Megan for creating the page. Megan deletes the comments and is upset. This wasn’t what she wanted.
When Nathan calms down he apologises to Megan. She’s very understanding. She has a lot of empathy as she lost her dad in a car accident. Al’s death brings some old emotions to the surface for her. She uses her experience to support Nathan through this difficult time. Megan and Nathan begin to bond over grieving for Al.
Al was a talented artist. Megan feels a great loss over Al and decides to put on an Art Gallery with all his work to remember him.
Megan and Tara fall out. Tara doesn’t understand why Megan cares so much about Al and is very rude and insensitive. She only is nice to Megan when she falls out with Eli but as soon as they are back together she drops Megan. Megan is at the point that she no longer cares. She doesn’t need Tara. Tara decides to throw a house party the same day as Al’s funeral.
The End
Nathan does get his answers. Things come to ahead at the funeral and everything unravels. He discovers the reason Lewis is so sorry. He discovers the ugly horrific truth behind the symbol and what drove Al to his end. Nathan goes after revenge and I didn’t see the end coming.
Megan learns through Al to go after what she wants. That she doesn’t have to accept her home town is all she can be and realises she could go to uni.
And, despite the heartbreaking truth, Nathan and Megan get a happily ever after.
Final Thoughts
Wow! You must read this book.
The voices of the characters were so vivid. I could see them as real people. Even Al. These people will stay with me forever.
The story was heartbreaking and expertly written. I had to find out what happened next and sometimes I had to calm down before going to bed. I had no idea how it would end. I was shocked by the revelations but it made sense.
Never has a novel caused me to shake with anger, fear and sadness all at once. OMG! As a writer I want to learn from Danielle’s mastery. As a reader I am desperate for more!
Despite all the sadness and ugliness the novel still has a happy ending. But, there is also a strong message about bullying and suicide. This book should be read in every high schools and discussed. This book could save lives.
This book was on my to buy list and then I won a signed copy in a completion on Twitter. There is something special about a physical signed book and I will treasure it forever.
The Beginning
Amelia is a quadruplet and a hereditary witch. In their garage, their dad teachers her and her brothers the history of their kind and how to control their powers. Each of them will master an element.
Amelia is crushing on Aiden, her brother’s best friend. During some sibling fallout over dog walking duties, Aiden offers to accompany her as he has to walk his dog.
The Middle
It doesn’t take Amelia and Aiden long to figure out their chemistry. With the blessing of her brothers, Aiden asks her out…
But, just as things are going well, the family receive a guest demanding the family honour an ancient promise. Edward believes that their families are to be joined in marriage and he strongly believes he is supposed to fulfil that promise by wedding Amelia.
The family then try to figure out away out of the promise, however, Edward is extremely persistent. His sister Emily is the complete opposite and when she starts Amelia’s school they quickly become friends.
Meanwhile, a rival Wiccan family plot to steal Amelia’s and her brother’s magic. They believe it was originally theirs and want it back. The rival witches are stalking Amelia and attack her whilst walking the dogs with Aiden. Amelia has to use her powers to fight them off.
Amelia has to lie to Aiden about what happened as he can’t know about magic unless they all agree to tell him. Aiden knows Amelia is not being honest with him. He learns about the Edward situation and gets jealous. They break up. Aiden then hooks up with the rival witch (he has no idea about witches). Amelia finds out and it breaks her heart.
Now Amelia is single, Edward gets more pushy. In the end, things get violent and her brothers have to throw him out their home. One of the brothers realises that the prophecy says nothing about who should marry who and maybe one of them could marry Emily to join the families.
Aiden realises what an idiot he is and begs her brothers to let him make up with Amelia. At first they won’t let him anywhere near her but seeing her so upset, they give in. Amelia and Aiden make up and the siblings reveal their magical secret.
The End
Aiden is captured by the rival witches and taken to a cave. The siblings work together on a plan but Amelia can’t wait and sneaks off alone to rescue Aiden. Amelia discovers it is a trap to force her to surrender her powers in return of Aiden’s release. Amelia is about to give up her magic for love when her brothers arrive. Together the siblings use their magic together to fight the rival witches and free Aiden.
Afterwards, Aiden realises how much Amelia loves him to surrender her magic. They have a happy ending.
Final Thoughts
This novel was a sweet romance, it has a very innocent feel of first love. The world building of magic is very subtle and natural. Nicola has woven the magic into the story and made it a natural part of their life. It makes it easy to embrace and follow.
Whilst reading this I picked up on a few Riverdale vibes. If you like Riverdale look out for those Easter Eggs. It was fun to spot them.
This novel is written in third person which isn’t my preference but I think it is useful as a writer to read different styles as you can learn a lot from other authors and how they deliver their stories.
I am curious to discover what’s next in the series and heard that book 2, Sam’s Story, was released at the end of February.
Recently, on Instagram we have been discussion how to create a catchy novel title. It appears to be a very personal decision. Some people can’t name their novel until they have finished whereas I can’t start my novel until I have a name for it. Although, as you will see,my ‘working’ titles are not set in stone.
Here is a collection of some of the covers I have created for my debut novel over the years (there are more). I am now going with Ocean Heart.
Originally my book was called Drift. You will also notice one called Wipeout. At one point my novel was two books but during a brutal edit, I cut loads and they became one.
In 2019, I tore my novel apart (again), deleted loads and added new content. It changed so much since the first draft, I renamed it Jewel of the sea.
My novel is now set for a new venture as I enter the world of Self Publishing. Now, I am paying for editors and working with other professionals to take my novel to print. As a result I have renamed my novel again. The new title is Ocean Heart.
I have no idea what the new cover will look like. Once I finish my current edit and know the final word count, I will instruct a professional cover designer. But for now… edits.
I can’t remember when I downloaded this book. It was just there on my Kindle, unread. It was like finding a hidden treasure. It became the perfect companion to read during the late night feeds with Aria.
The Beginning
The novel quickly sets up the scene of the three main crowds. It is told told from two points of view, Hannah’s and Cody’s.
Hannah attends a private school. She is only able to go due to a scholarship she achieved thanks to her high grades. She works hard to keep her place and never breaks the rules.
Then there is the ‘it’ crowd made up of the rich kids of the most influential families. Cody was once part of this crowd but following the scandal where his pregnant high school sweet heart died in a drink driving accident, he is now an out cast.
Hannah realises she is going to finish school without ever doing anything wild or having a boyfriend. She sets her sights on Harrison, the high school king and famous for his exclusive parties. To get invited you need to be given a key.
The Middle
Considering that Cody knows the ‘it’ crowd but is no longer part of it, she singles him out to ask for his help. Cody tries to talk her out of her plan. He warns her the clique are not nice people but when Hannah resolves to blackmail him, he decides she might fit right in.
Hannah thinks Cody is a safe perfect practice boyfriend because there is no way she would fall for him. Cody teaches her the rules of the elite and helps her practice her kissing. Cody is rich and even pays for her to have a full makeover and wardrobe upgrade.
Cody pretends to be her boyfriend. To keep up the pretence they have to spend a lot of time together. They have their first kiss and more. Cody continues to help Hannah to get noticed by the ‘it’ crowd and it works.
Now Hannah is being invited to hang out with the girls eager to gossip about Cody. They want her to see the monster he is as they blame him for the death of their friend. Being in the spotlight attracts the attention of Harrison and it looks like Hannah is going to get her wish.
The End
Hannah discovers that money, popularity and wealth isn’t as glamorous as she anticipated. She discovers some ugly truths but is it too late to make things right?
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved this book. I wanted Aria to wake up in the night for her milk so I could read some more. It was fast paced. I loved the world building. The twisted ‘it’ crowd reminded me of Cruel Intentions. I love the misunderstandings and conflict between the two and the relationship was believable.
Both characters were well developed and I really liked both of them – which is a tricky thing to do in dual points. I would definitely be interested in reading more by Christina Benjamin,
This post will share my ambition to traditionally publish and why that dream has changed to wanting to be an indie author.
The Traditional Author Dream
For years my dream was to be a published author. From the moment I realised someone wrote the story I was reading, I wanted to be that someone.
Back then, the only way to publish was to look inside a similar book for the contact details of the publisher and send your manuscript to them with a covering letter in the post.
Since then, things have changed. Many publishers won’t accept unsolicited manuscripts so you first need to get a Literary Agent. Most places won’t accept manuscripts by post so you now must send the document by email or using a form on their website. Their websites inform you of everything they want and don’t want. Most places now want:
A polished manuscript
A personalised covering letter (body of email) saying why you choose them
A synopsis (that fits on one page)
Comparative novels
A pitch
A marketing plan
And social media links.
Sounds like a lot! And often you need a good pitch to even get invited to send all that to them in the first place.
That’s not to add that rejection is high.
The Different Publishing Paths
As a result, it is no surprise that people have come up with solutions to this madness. One alternative method is to self publish and another is vanity publishing.
Here is a little info graphic on the basic differences between the different paths for novel publishing (from my interpretation):
Vanity Publishing is not for me. I don’t have the upfront costs and I want more control.
Traditional Publishing is no longer for me. I have a lot of admiration for people that are fortunate enough to get their Literary Agent and publisher. It instantly gives their novel validation that it is good enough to print. And, you know that it will have been processed by a number of industry professionals before going to print. But, I’m bored of querying.
Ready to publish
I have waited long enough and now I realise I don’t need someone else to say yes when I can give myself permission to publish today.
Con Artists
In recent years, the only requests I have had have been from ‘publishers’ I don’t trust. They requested my novel after a pitch event or via Instagram. Their websites were newly created and had no details about authors or books they have worked on/with or even who the agents or editors at the company are. I passed.
Costs
It has taken me years to find the money to pay for an editor myself. I need to pay as you go. I also like the idea that the sales will go to me.
Autonomy
After all the time I have put into it, I want my novel to be the way I want it. I want a say over the formatting and the cover. I want control.
Readership
I don’t want this to be my only novel. It is important that my novel is a quality product. I want to be confident and proud of my book. I want readers to enjoy it and want more. Once I publish, I don’t want to stop.
Self publishing is scary. But, I’m ready. And, I hope you will enjoy following me in my journey to publication.
I can’t believe it has been 10 years since I first wrote my novel. I’ve written countless other novels but this one I felt had potential. This one, I decided to take seriously.
2009 and 2010
It was Christmas 2009 and I was off work for the holidays when the idea for a novel, about a redhead teen with no idea she is a mermaid discovers she has powers, hit me. I wanted it to be like a modern Little Mermaid.
Once I sat at my PC and started to write I was unable to stop. Without an outline, it was like I was possessed, I struggled to sleep, to eat… I felt anxious if I wasn’t writing Drift.
My fiancé got worried. He saw the sudden change in me and urged me to take a break, to visit family.
But, I couldn’t not write. So I lied to appease him. Pretended to go out, then sneaked back once he had gone to see his own family. It was like having a secret wiring affair. But after an intense week, the first 60k words were written.
I share my novel with anyone willing to read it. My novel was on WeBook where I developed a supportive group of fans. They were a huge confidence boost and we had our own little group to chat about my stories!
It is laughable now but I edited my novel in 2010 and started querying. Surprisingly, I did get some requests. It is surprisingly because now I look back at that early version and see how it wasn’t finished. At the time, I thought it was ready.
My fan had some valuable feedback for me, “You can’t end the story like that!” At first, I saw that as excitement for the next book in the series and began writing Wipeout, but slowly it dawned on me that they were right.
Promise and Deliver
I learnt an important lesson. Readers will develop certain expectations of your story and you must deliver on those.
Version 1 ended with Jace winking at Fern and there being the ‘suggestion’ they were about to get together. But, fans had read for 60k words. They wanted to see Fern achieve her happily ever after and a ‘wink’ was not the grande finale they had invested their time for.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Early 2011, I was distracted by wedding preparations as my June wedding date got nearer. Then, I desperately wanted a baby. We were also trying to move house and the recession meant the value of my home was dropping every month, loosing the equity needed to move.
But 2013, we sold our house, bought a lovely family home and I had my son. With everything falling into place I would like to say I returned to my novel… but my baby boy was the biggest distraction of all.
Stupidly I thought being off work with a baby would free me up to write more but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Noah was not a chilled out baby. I spent his first year keeping up with his hunger, entertaining him and sleeping whenever I could.
Have realistic expectations
Sadly WeBook was no longer the thriving community it once was. All my fans had moved on, possibly grown up, and I had lost them through inactivity. I had to find a new source of feedback. I joined Movella, Figment and Wattpad.
Wattpad became my new favourite. I began editing Drift and Wipeout and shared other novels and created some poetry collections.
For Drift, I changed the ending so Lily (formerly Fern) is asked out by Jace (formerly Sam). I removed the parts by Denny (Jace’s mum) – she gave an outsider perspective of Lily’s unusual upbringing.
Th sequel Wipeout was also told from Lily’s viewpoint and had a few part’s told by Kiara – she was able to show what was going on with Murray. The sequel wasn’t coming to me as easy as Drift had and I was falling in love with Kiara…
2017 and 2018
2017 started with my employer going into administration. I had worked for the company for over 10 years. It scared me, not knowing where my next pay cheque would come from. With bills to pay, I had to find work fast and job hunting became my new priority.
Once I found a job, I felt a little disappointed in myself. I felt I had wasted an opportunity to spend time with my son as I now worked more hours. I realised how I wasn’t prioritising my dream. My profession is a job, not my passion.
Make it a priority
Whilst job hunting, I thought HR and PR work looked appealing but didn’t have the knowledge employers wanted. So in September 2017, I told my employer I was interested in doing the CIPD HR qualification and to my surprise they were willing to support me. I learnt, if you don’t ask the answer will never be yes.
In November 2017, I found out I was pregnant. I was over the moon and in a much better place.
Passing my course, doing well in my job and having a baby were all super important. But, I no longer wanted to treat writing as a hobby. I knew how busy my life would be once Aria was here so I became determined to edit and query before her arrival. My goal was to be signed by an agent by August 2018 (Aria’s due date).
I learnt knew ways to query. I developed my pitch and took part in Twitter events, I found out about Agent 1-2-1s and worked on improving my synopsis. Despite getting requests, I never got offered representation.
In 2018, I edited Drift by removing the parts told by Gwyn (Lily’s mum) – she did some foretelling using her crystal ball. I also decided to scrap Wipeout. I took parts from the sequel and put it into Drift, Glide or cut it out completely.
2019
My goal was to finish editing Drift and Glide. I began by restructure my novel using Save The Cat Writes a Novel. It started off a a way to check my plot and pacing but it soon became apparent that I needed to pull the whole novel a part. It was very intimidating but by the end I had a better novel and a brand new ending. Now there was the highs and lows, romance and I had delivered on the promise of an epic battle. This novel was so different from my original idea of a modern Little Mermaid and I needed a new title, Jewel of the Sea. I also renamed Glide as Diamond in the Sky.
I tried new ways of querying my novel. I pitched on Twitter and in person and got requests but sadly never heard more. Although, I still love the idea of traditional publishing, I have spent the year learning about indie publishing.
I discovered the writing community on Instagram and joined groups like Hustling Writers, Fellow Creative Minds and World Indie Warriors. I also connected with talented authors like Pagan Malcolm and Bethany Atazadeh who share their journey and advice.
Connecting with indie authors gave me insight into their world and processes. No longer did their world scare me, but intrigued me. With their support and encouragement I decided not to spend another decade waiting for someone else to give me permission to publish.
Say yes to yourself!
The problem with querying is you are waiting for someone else to say you can publish. They can say no for countless reasons and rarely have time to explain why. The truth is you don’t need their validation because you can give it to yourself.
You no longer have to traditionally publish. If you are willing to work hard, you can choose your own team and publish yourself. With so many crooks masquerading in the traditional publishing world, it is a mine field to navigate now (I’m sure I had requests from at least three dodgy publishers, I didn’t submit to in 2019 alone).
After ten years writing and querying Jewel of the Sea (formerly Drift), I have decided to Self Publish.
2020
This year is the start of a new era. This year, I am going to publish. It won’t be easy and I have lots still to learn but I’m ready.
Jewel of the Sea is due back this month from a developmental editor. This is my the first step in my big publishing plan.
Celebrate your milestones
To celebrate this new venture, I feel Jewel of the Sea, aka Drift, needs a new name.
I have set myself some strict deadline to keep myself on track but I I won’t rush to publish. I have waited so long for this, I want to be certain my novel is a quality product when I put it out there. I want my readers to love it.
I will blog about my publishing journey, so if you are interested in the process, stay tuned. I would love to hear your thoughts on the new title Ocean Heart.
