What I've Learned (so far) By Becoming an Indie Author

I am new to the Indie Author Movement. The shift in the publishing world started several years ago, but my shift in perspective began just this year. Only a few months ago, in fact, when I talked to my husband about writing a book during my time home with our two youngest daughters. I thought he would blow me off, but he was on board and supported my dream (thank you, honey). So I started to write a book.

Now, if any of you know me, you know that I can get, well, almost obsessive about some things, and writing a book became my new obsession (sorry, honey). I dove in head first, getting all the information I could about authors and publishing and all the different paths I could take, all while writing the book that was in my head. Through the whole process, I was drawn to the Indie path. I questioned myself many times. Is this really the path I want to go? Why not try the traditional route? My answer to that is: I'm a control freak. I want to have complete control of the whole process. I want it to be my dream realized, not what other people think will sell. I have since completed that book, and am in the process of several rounds of editing before its launch in three weeks. During that time, these are the things I have learned how to do for myself:

I created my own website. I learned how to create what I think is a beautiful website that works on desktops and mobile devices. How cool is that? Now, am I a web designer? Not even close. I am so grateful for sites like this one that allow me to use their tools. But, I did it. By myself. And I think that is awesome.

I designed my own marketing tools. In the last month, I have made ads, teasers, and bookmarks that are getting my book out there for other people to see. My first (and second and third) attempts at making anything related to my book were, let's be honest, they were ugly. I am so glad I didn't put those out there for anyone to see (other than some of the author groups I am on, who were kind enough to rip them apart and tell me how to fix them). But the more I do it, the more I learn. And the more I learn, the better they get and I am proud of them and myself for making them.

I'm still learning to format my book for e-book and print. I've learned the basics, but I still have a long way to go to make it pretty. But the big thing here is that I AM learning it.

The most important thing I have learned through this process is that I can do these things and anything else I want to. Being an entrepreneur is hard work. It sucks sometimes, but those moments of triumph when something I created is beautiful and works, are worth every minute of it. I wrote a book! Not many people can say that. (More than you'd think, but still it's a small group.) Even less of those people can say, "I wrote a book, marketed it, published it, and it's all mine. I'm proud to say those things. That's another thing I've learned - to be proud of myself. And it's an amazing feeling.