I have been doing the writing thing since late 2012. I had no freaking clue what I was doing. I just knew that I had stories I wanted to write. I was nervous and awkward. I was scared to even tell people I was writing at all.
I made so many mistakes along the way. I still make them. But when I realize my error, I correct it, dust myself off, and keep learning and growing. My first book was hardly edited and well I like to pretend it isn't floating around out there on pirate sites. I kept on plugging away and thinking I was rock star at this whole publishing thing. I was wrong and had blinders on. Man, to know what I know now and be able to go back...would I change anything? I don't think I would because I wouldn't have gotten to this place I am in without all these lessons.
I had no clue about branding myself as an author, I didn't know that was a thing. I was writing and putting out okay stories but they still needed some TLC. Some people enjoyed those works and others not so much. Which is good. I received constructive feedback even though I wasn't prepared to hear it. I call it the growing pains of writing. I found my breakthrough with a story called Grim The Beginning. Writing that story changed my life in a lot of ways. It brought me lots of new readers who loved my style and wanted more. That book again not greatly edited but the gift of storytelling was in me and people were responding.
I recently went back and reworked that book and now I am proud to have my name on it. The not so great books were taken down. Some were given new life under a new pen name that well I didn't have the time to give the attention it needed. I have actually tried 2 other open names and found that you know what I like my name just fine. I love my stories and a lot of my problem was not getting the whole package right.
I have learned a lot over the years and I learn something new every single day. Those books that failed to launch have been taken down again and will be relaunched under my name, because this is me and who I want to be. I want to write so many different stories and I am not one of those people who can juggle more than 1 name, I give mad credit to those who can. Anyway those other books of mine are coming back. Some have new titles and they all have new covers. This time I think I have the whole package together. What does this mean? My books that are listed under Allie Faye have been unpublished and they will move back under my name. I get that this may be confusing to some of you. My mistake was moving them to the pen name in the first place. That's one of those lessons I was talking about.
Anyway I will have a note for each one telling what it was previously published as. I don't want anyone to feel like I am trying to rip them off or asking them to buy the same book again. I would never ask my readers to do that.
My advice is to take your time. Know who your audience will be for each book. Invest in quality editing and a professional cover. Don't get in a hurry. Don't be like me though I am proud of my journey, some of my mistakes have been costly and very time consuming to correct.
Some others would say don't look back. Just keep writing and moving forward. I wish I could but I can't have a book out there that I'm not proud of. My readers deserve my best and so do my characters. I'm not wired to settle.
That's all for now. I may come back and add more to this post later.
Happy reading and writing!
