It's Okay To Be Frustrated - Indie Author Style

Writing the book is the easy part.

Absolutely correct. Writing a 165 000 word manuscript that took 12 years to get as close to perfect as possible is a right side easier than... literally everything else.

No one really warns you about the hours and hours and hours you will spend editing. No one warns you how much you will hate the work you once loved. No one warns you that opening the document to go over the same paragraph again because someone said it's not quite right, or because you think it could be better, will start to feel like a punishment, like a chore. No one warns you that eventually, that little creative spark within you dies.

If you manage to push past that shade of night. It's the marketing. It the algorithms. It's starting as a tiny drop in a pool where you feel insignificant and trying and trying to grow an audience with no experience, no help and very little time because guess what? While trying to become an author we're also still trying to work and live, make time for family and friends, work on that novel over and over. It's watching views that never go up. Sure, there is a lot of marketing advice out there, but it's not a one-size-fits-all and if that one size doesn't fit you, it can rather disheartening.

If it's not marketing it's cover and interior design. I am fortunate enough to have someone to support me in this matter, it's one less thing I had to learn. But I do vividly remember looking at software for interior design and bursting into tears because my brain just didn't comprehend it. At all. The thought of having to make my own cover had me ignoring my manuscript for weeks because I couldn't face the fact that it was something else that needed to be done. And that is the reality for many indie authors. Sure, we get there eventually, but it's a lot.

We're told to build a site because it's great for building your brand. Wonderful, it's still the matter of building a site. Yet another new craft we have to learn It's more money. It's more time. Domains cost money. Webhosting costs money. Building the site takes HOURS to learn. It's frustrating, its disheartening. It's late night where relaxation is shoved to the side and forgotten. It's work during the day and work as an indie author after hours.

It's hire an editor,

Get beta readers,

Get ARC readers,

Get a barcode,

Get an ISBN,

Edit,

Design the cover,

Format internally,

Get enough sleep,

Set up the site,

Try not to lose your mind,

Work on your WIPs,

Find a platform to publish on,

Eat something,

Organize things for pre-release,

Market,

Organize a decently priced shipping company,

Understand terminology you've never seen before,

Post consistently on social media,

Take on the responsibility of an entire business and still enjoy your craft.

The reality is:

This is expensive, this is draining, you will have to learn A LOT.

Expect things to take longer than you think.

Prepare to be frustrated.

Prepare to hate what you once loved.

You will be exhausted.

You will feel alone.

That's why it's so important to hold onto the dream you once had. So far, it's one of the only things that has truly dragged me through these years. I am still frustrated, I am still struggling, I am still doubting. But I have a dream, and I have those who believe in my dream with me.

Find your people. Find those who will support you when you feel like giving up because they won't let you leave behind a dream you've worked so hard on.

There are many people who can start writing a book.

Few who can finish one.

Even fewer who get right to the end.

And only a handful who, one day, hold their dream in their hand.