This year certainly is flying by! I can’t quite believe I’ve been writing full time for five months now – it seems like just yesterday that I was spending five days a week working ridiculous hours in a corporate job.
While it seems like the time has flown by, when I take a look at what I’ve done in that time I’m quietly pleased. I’m so close to having my first book finished (as in 99% close!) and it is going up for pre-order in 3 weeks’ time. This means I’ll have started, written, edited and published a book in just 6 months. Not as fast as some writers, but for my first book I’m pretty happy. The cover design is almost finalized and I’ll be doing a big design reveal next week. I’ve built a website, optimized my social accounts and have just finished putting the finishing touches on my book launch marketing plan. There also will be something available for free for anyone who pre-orders Laura the Explorer, so watch out for that announcement!
I’ve also started work on the first draft of my next book (a sci-fi book) and I’m challenging myself to get at least 50,000 words down in April as part of Camp NaNoWriMo. Come May, I’ll be starting on book two of the Laura the Explorer series, which (if all goes to plan!) will be published in late 2016.
Ultimately I’m planning on completing three novels this year – the two LTE books that I’m self-publishing and one sci-fi book that I’m planning on shopping around to agents and publishers. As I’ve mentioned earlier I find the whole publishing industry super exciting at the moment and I want to get involved from all directions! This means that while I’m super keen to do everything myself with the Laura the Explorer series, I’m going to attempt the traditional publishing route with my fantasy/sci-fi books. So I’m tackling the industry from two angles, and if everything goes to plan I’ll end up as a successful hybrid author.
Are you a hybrid or indie author just starting out? Connect with me on Twitter or Instagram as I’d love to see what you’re up to!
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