Happy New Year! I thought I would follow the trend of new years post, but with my own twist. This will be a two part post, as you may have noticed from the title. Part one will concentrate on what I set out to do in 2015, and part two will take a look at what goals I have for 2016, and how I plan to get there.
2015 was my year of doing really big and scary things.
This was the year that I had decided to self publish my first book. This was such a huge decision for me that took a lot of thought. Originally I had thought to doggedly pursue traditional publication and keep writing the series while I shopped the first book and series around, but in the end I didn't want anyone telling me how I should be naming characters, or constructing the plot. I wanted the freedom of creativity that self publishing brings.
To hit this goal, I rewrote, revised, got a few trusted beta readers, reached out to an artist for a custom piece for the cover, and started really concentrating on building a social media presence. While much of it was fun, it still was a lot of work. And completely worth it! The only aspect to self publishing I am having a little harder time with is the promotion. When you self publish everything-including promoting the book- is on the author. Promotion would have been so much better with an agent and traditional publishing, but I wouldn't be able to put out the books in the way I wanted, and on the schedule I wanted had I gotten a contract. But I will address more of the self publishing process in a later post.
In 2015 I also attended several events geared towards writers, readers, and work-shoppers.
The first of which happened at the end of March. I attended the 26th Annual Writers' Institute in Madison, WI. This was the first conference I attended, and I picked a fantastic first one! I couldn't have been more pleased with not only my experience, but the general atmosphere. Everyone who was there, was there to learn, to better themselves in some way. It was an amazing weekend, and I am already planning my trip to this year's event in April!
If any one is curious, here is the link to their site: https://uwwritersinstitute.wisc.edu/
The same weekend I released my first book I attended a book festival in a town north of me. It was fabulous. The weather was great and many of my friends stopped by. I didn't sell many books, and it was where I was first introduced to genre/cover-biased people (more to come in a later post), but it was a learning experience. Plus I got to share the table with my writing buddy, and editor, Rebekah Bryan! Please check out her books and website! http://rebekahnbryan.com/
I held my first release party! Not many people came, but having a smaller audience was fantastic for my nerves. Thankfully my career is writing and NOT public speaking. But I faced my fear, and had a great time. My aunt drove all the way from Michigan and surprised us with a visit. It was amazingly wonderful to have her support in my work.
In October my fiancé Josh, and my writing buddy Rebekah Bryan attended the first annual Nerdcon: Stories. It was an experience I am glad to have, and it made for a great getaway weekend. You can read about my trip there here: http://malindaandrews.blogspot.com/2015/10/nerdcon-stories.html
Of course I participated in NaNoWriMo for the third time this November. The first weekend one of the regions I am a part of had their kick off celebration where the South East Wisconsin Festival of Books was being held. I was able to get a table, and even sold a few books while there!
You can read about that experience here: http://malindaandrews.blogspot.com/2015/11/south-east-wisconsin-festival-of-books.html
Needless to say I want to go back next year!
All in all this was a fantastic year filled with new experiences and growth. I am so proud of myself for stepping out of my little introverted bubble. I met so many people with the same interests as me, and also picked up some tips on how to market my books a long the way.
Part two of this post, which will address my goals for 2016, will appear next Wednesday.
As a bonus for getting all the way through this post, I am running a free book giveaway through Goodreads starting today through the 31st! You can enter by clicking the icon on the top right hand side of the main page. Unfortunately it is only available to US residents. Good luck!
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