This only really started in the last two years. I was the proverbial blue bottle that kept flying into the window and banging its head. I would fall onto the proverbial window-sill, lay slightly stunned for a while and then get up and do it again.
During that time I taught creative writing, worked full time as a business analyst, competed at rowing and wrote in between. You might notice I like being busy and managed all that by creating structures that enabled me to be consistent. What makes it easier for me is I like the feeling of progress. Even if I write for ten minutes then I am progressing. The point was - nothing was happening. So one day I had to re-evaluate my WHY. My great dream of international fame, fortune and flying helicopters probably was not going to manifest in reality. Instead I realised I had been chasing illusions and actually the reason why I wrote was down to the fact I loved writing. I simply loved creating stories and it did not matter whether other people liked them or whether people bought them. Instead it was spending time in creative inner landscapes imagining. As soon as I realised that it was not about how much money I made and whether there was any interest. I was going to write anyway because it was my passion and my hobby- that is when something shifted. The struggle stopped and I had more energy to write what I wanted, how I wanted. My books went on promotion and the sales started. I know it is sad but when you have twenty downloads in a week you feel as though you have been 'found'. That sense of liberation seemed to send a signal up to the universe and people arrived in my life who desired to make my books into audible books. That is where I am now. I am working with a fantastic producer who is turning Labyrinthine into and audible book. It seems to take it to the next level and I am loving it. After that, who knows, I am completing a couple of film scripts of The Ocean Callings and Labyrinthine because the producer I should have those ready 'just in case'. So let's see what the next step is... All I can say to all you Indie authors is persevere and find ways for you to make things happen. All the while, love what you write and enjoy it. That is the greatest reward you can have - enjoy every moment of your creation. The way I see it is if I can do it then so can other people. I can have a break through then surely sharing it with others will help them to keep going against all the odds. There will always be doubters and people who tell you why you won't succeed. It is your choice to listen to them. My advice is keep going, enjoy what you create and put the work out there because there is more than enough audience for all of us.
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