Book Bloggers

While my first novel is being edited and reviewed, I have had time to do a few other things. I started working some more on the sequel to my first novel and have also been searching out Book Bloggers blogs. Say that three times fast! There are avid readers out there that devote blogs to reviewing books. I read an article that talked about how Amanda Hocking's self-published books were doing okay, but after she discovered book bloggers, her books took off. I found a website that has a list of over a thousand of these blogs. I have been going down the list and finding the blogs that would be a fit to review my books. Hopefully they will be willing to review my books, like them, and share them with those that read their blogs. It has been kind of hard to find ones that accept self-published books, but I am slowly getting a nice list of potential reviewers.

Step One Complete

Today I finished going through my first novel front to back. Now I will pass it long to a couple of editors for further editing. Hopefully this will only take about a week, and then I will be able to tweak the story a little more before the final edit. I am excited to keep moving forward.

How it began

I have always loved reading for as long as I can remember. As a child I loved summers away from school because it allowed me more time to read books. I believe my love of writing began when I would summarize the stories I was reading for my younger brother at night. As I described the different exciting scenes from books that I was reading and watched my brother’s excitement, I realized the enjoyment that I found from entertaining others with stories. I have also always loved to relate aspects of my day to those around me. From those things grew my desire to write a novel. As I began writing, I realized that I loved it! It was something that excited me and gave me a sense of fulfillment.

But what are the odds that I could actually get my novel published and become an author full time? I had read the stories of famous authors who had struggled for years before they finally got published. It was not necessarily how good the book was but how lucky you were to have your book in the right place at the right time. Being the practical and responsible person that I am, I went to college and got my degree in Accounting. During this time I finished my novel and began to send out query letters. I went out and found a stable job that would provide for me and my family and continued sending out query letters sporadically. Letter after letter returned with another rejection.

My mind was still full of ideas and my dream was still to become a full time writer, but how could I justify spending the time to write on top of my current full time job if I would never be published? So for the next few years I fell in the routine of working at a job that was not bad but definitely did not excite me. I enjoyed the time away from work with my wife and later with my kids. I am happy but still long to do what I love for a living. I want to write! I want more time with my family! I want to make my own success and dictate my own schedule! I find myself day dreaming more and more at work of different stories and of the joy of quitting my stable job and being an author.

When I read about self-publishing my novel as an ebook, I knew I had found my chance! Once again the fire was burning within me to write. My dreams felt just a little closer. So here I go, it’s time to make my dreams come true!

Author's Awakening

Last week I made a decision. I decided that I would self-publish my novel as an ebook. I had not thought of that route much in the past, but I recently have seen the Kindle around and several members of my extended family have recently purchased Kindles of their own. I decided to look into it more and read an article on how to publish an ebook. I was impressed with the opportunities that are available for independent writers. Since then I have immersed myself in the world of publishing an ebook. I have learned of many writers who have become successful and of the growing popularity of ebooks. I asked myself, “If others can do it, why can’t I?”

So I decided that nothing is holding me back now except for myself. I committed to editing my novel one more time and then publishing it. As a way for me to track my commitment, and hopefully success, I have started this blog. I will write about my journey to publishing my first novel and track the results once it is published. I hope that this blog may help others who have similar dreams. In the least, it will be a way for me to track my progress and document the journey for myself.

Welcome to my blog. May the journey be enlightening, entertaining, and successful!