Merry Christmas One and All!

It's my final blog before Christmas and time for an end of year round up. So what have the past twelve months taught me on my journey as a struggling Indie author?

Hmm, really quite a lot . . .

1. Success is slow, but patience helps.  Eighteen months into my adventure, I’ve sold more books than I expected to but it seemed to take an eternity.

2.     Things can change from one day to the next, one hour to the next.  I never stay down for too long now, it’s not worth it - and the positives far outweigh the negatives.

3.      Not everyone likes my books - I can’t expect them to.  I don’t like Stephen King’s books, they're not my thing - but then I wouldn’t read one and then leave a negative review!

4.      My readers are lovely, loyal people.  Their reviews make me cry and their support is priceless.

5.      Doing free promotions on two of my books was the best move ever.  It raised my Amazon profile and then SOLD heaps of my other books.  I don’t know why I left it so long before doing it. Probably because I imagined people saying, ‘Huh!  She has to give her books away ‘cos she can’t sell them!’  But people aren’t that nasty, are they?!

6.      Fellow Indies are a huge help to one another.  We may be in competition but we still support and care for each other.  A quick rant in an email or on the phone and Michelle Betham and I often feel heaps better.  It’s been a good year for both of us but we’ve had our niggles and our down days - it’s good to know that someone knows exactly how you’re feeling.  You can buy Michelle’s books here.

7.      Editing is a curse!  Typos are sneaky little buggers and will always get the better of you.  Both ‘Stilettos & Stubble’ and ‘Christmas Deliverance’ were read endless times by three people before they went to publication and still there were a few mistakes.  Twitter friends kindly and sensitively pointed them out and both books have now been amended but I admit to throwing a few toys out of the pram when we found them.  It does annoy me though when I read other Indie writers’ reviews and people say things such as ‘You can see they’re an Indie writer.  Typos!’  Well, I’ve just ditched a book by a well known writer with a big publishing house because she changed the name of a character from one paragraph to the next, so it’s not just us Indies who do it.

8.      Everything takes longer than expected.  I’m waiting on two quite exciting developments to finally fall into place but nothing ever goes at the speed I want it to.  I’ve now decided not to pass any exciting news on in the initial stages because I look like a fabricator while I’m waiting for it to materialise.  So do keep watching this space!

So that’s my lessons for the year.  I’m sure next year will teach me a lot more but I’m prepared for the journey and ready to hit the ground running in 2013.  Book Six is on its way.

I’ve also been tagged with these questions by my Twitter friend Ness @baggiesbabe69 - you can read her answers here.

Q1. What’s your favourite thing about Christmas?

I’d have to say the excitement of knowing that I’ve got the right presents for the people I love.  The thought of that perfect gift hiding in my wardrobe is just the best.

Q2. What’s your favourite make up look for the festive season?

For evenings and parties I like to go for a slightly smoky look with paler lips.  I sometimes attempt false eyelashes (the more subtle variety) but I get bad tempered and end up thinking they don’t look much different to when I put on an extra coat of mascara!

Q3. Real or fake tree?

Very good fakes inside (one up and one downstairs) and a real one outside that I grew from a baby.

Q4. Giving presents or receiving them?

Definitely giving.  Although of course I’m more than happy to receive!

Q5. Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?

Hubbie and I have our stockings on Christmas Eve and then we all have our presents on Christmas morning after our son has had his stocking.

Q6. Handmade Christmas cards or bought?

We made our own cards, complete with festive pictures of our son, for the first ten years of his life.  He was dressed as a shepherd, a snowman, Father Christmas and one year we turned him into a Christmas tree by wrapping him in green felt and fairy lights!  We even plugged them in - wicked parents!  Now I’m afraid that all cards - except husband’s, son’s and Mum’s - are shop bought.

Q8. What’s your favourite Christmas food?

Chocolate of course!  I also love sprouts so I figure that balances it out.  In the good old days of yummy meat juices, it used to be turkey dripping on toast but meats don’t seem to produce the same fats any more.

Thanks for tagging me, Ness.  It was good to end on a festive theme.

I wish all my readers a happy and peaceful Christmas and don’t forget, if you get a new Kindle from Santa, my books can be found here.