Breaking Free

I have a confession…

I lost sight with who I am as an author. Drowned in the noise of the publishing world. In order to make it, I had to focus on reviews to build up my book’s reputation. In order to get taken seriously, I had to win literary awards. In order to get my books into the hands of readers, I had to sign up for book signing events. Guess what, there are a lot of local authors vying for the same thing. In order to build up a community base, I had to go on all these social media platforms. The only problem, I have to pay in order to get more followers and visibility. In order to keep the reader’s interest, I was encouraged to make a newsletter. The only problem, every author gets that same encouragement. Every business basically has one and emails get drowned in the marketing pool. I’m actually considering breaking ties with my beehiiv newsletter. (I haven’t made my decision yet, so if you are reading this, give me a good reason not to.)

I had a dream. A dream to one day go from writer to author. I achieved that dream. The only problem is, what good is publishing a book if no one reads it? And so I got on that carousel ride of trying too hard to gain the attention of readers to pick my book out of millions of other books in the sea of the internet world. Although I would love to see my book one day in a mainstream bookstore, like Barnes and Noble or BAM, the reality is, it’s a fight I choose not to fight for anymore. Not if I have to sell my soul. The publishing world is ever changing and now with AI it makes it easier to deceive and bury natural talents in the writing community. It’s disheartening, so I’m breaking free. I never was one who like following the crowd and yet, I got stuck on the same carousel anyway, spinning round and round.

I took a risk. I took a gamble. In the beginning, The Darkest Side of the Moon received praise. The start of my author career. Now reviews are coming in frowning on the second-person narrative. I knew the risks. I stand form with my decision. The whole reason behind trying a narrative not many other authors try, is to stand out from the crowd. To have the readers view the story from a different perspective. That’s the whole purpose of stepping away from reality and putting on a different pair of shoes. Although my writing strengthen as I continued to write The Dark series, without The Darkest Side of the Moon, there would be no The Dark series. In writing the story in second-person narrative, I found I enjoy second-person narrative and find ways to go back to writing in second-narrative. At the end of the day, it’s all about perspective.

Which circles me back to the part about breaking free. Early on in my author career, I was given the advice that writing is considered a craft. I kept that in the back of my mind, but never followed through with the advice. Until now.

Mark your calendars! I’ve got a bunch of craft and vendor shows lined up in the next couple of months! The first one I signed up for, that aligns with my audience, is…

Following my first craft and vendor show is…

And the last one lined up so far for 2026 is…

There are a few others on my radar. The sky is the limit now that I’ve opened the door to vendor and craft shows. Although I won’t be signing up for as many author events going forward, potentially missing out on opportunities, I believe this is the best course of action for me. One where I’m in control.

Life’s not fair, and neither is the publishing world. So, it’s time I break free…