Self-publishing has a certain stigma. It is often looked at as a "last resort" or an "only option" for authors. "It's a quality issue," they say. "Bad content is clogging the system." While I think there is some truth to that, my overall belief is that the lasting stories will find their way to the top of the pile one way or another. It isn't so much about how much bad content is out there, but rather, it has more to do with the growing number of good content that is working its way into the system. Competition is becoming thicker as more people are vying for those top spots, but I believe there has never been a better time to be a writer.
Self-publishing Was My First Resort
I didn't send out any queries for Satan's Garden. I didn't print out a manuscript and mail it off to dozens of agents and publishers. It wasn't because I don't believe in the traditional process, because I do, very strongly. Writing is and always will be a collaborative process, and traditional publishing provides that constant creative network and support system. Nevertheless, I wanted to use the resources and team I have in my corner and show the world what I am made of, without a big house behind me at the start.
Today's publishing landscape is in the writer's favor. The platforms available to us puts the cards back in our hands. It allows us to create our own worth, to earn our spot. Self-publishing is my first resort because I believe that in order to prove myself, I have to be my greatest advocate.
At twenty-four, the road I took to get here may not seem that long to many of you. However, in the last two and a half years, I feel as if I have lived many more than that. I have had setbacks, disappointments, epiphanies, and revelations. I constantly found myself going back to the drawing board. What I realized was that each time I went back, I was closer to figuring it out. All of those revisions and wiped-clean boards, they all mattered.
Figuring Out What I Didn't Want
I moved to LA the summer of 2011 to pursue a career as a screenwriter. Screenwriting has always been my first love. It was the reason I moved across the country and what I had planned on doing with my life. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that it was where I was supposed to go.
Self-publishing Was My First Resort
I didn't send out any queries for Satan's Garden. I didn't print out a manuscript and mail it off to dozens of agents and publishers. It wasn't because I don't believe in the traditional process, because I do, very strongly. Writing is and always will be a collaborative process, and traditional publishing provides that constant creative network and support system. Nevertheless, I wanted to use the resources and team I have in my corner and show the world what I am made of, without a big house behind me at the start.
Today's publishing landscape is in the writer's favor. The platforms available to us puts the cards back in our hands. It allows us to create our own worth, to earn our spot. Self-publishing is my first resort because I believe that in order to prove myself, I have to be my greatest advocate.
At twenty-four, the road I took to get here may not seem that long to many of you. However, in the last two and a half years, I feel as if I have lived many more than that. I have had setbacks, disappointments, epiphanies, and revelations. I constantly found myself going back to the drawing board. What I realized was that each time I went back, I was closer to figuring it out. All of those revisions and wiped-clean boards, they all mattered.
Figuring Out What I Didn't Want
I moved to LA the summer of 2011 to pursue a career as a screenwriter. Screenwriting has always been my first love. It was the reason I moved across the country and what I had planned on doing with my life. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that it was where I was supposed to go.
That was the hardest part. I was so sure of what I wanted. The thing was, even though I love[d] writing scripts and relished in being surrounded with such creative talent, it wasn't the lifestyle I had imaged for myself. I struggled with that realization. I'm a person who makes decisions confidently, and at first, it was tough admitting I was wrong.
But my time in LA was far from a failure. I worked at a literary management company, learned the ropes of a boutique talent agency, sat on the set of TV's best primetime show, Parenthood, and day played as a production assistant for CBS's daytime talk show, The Talk. I witnessed passionate artists every day, and it inspired me to lay down the bricks of my own path. It was in the late nights tucked away in my pillbox-sized studio apartment that I found Dani and Keely's story. I'm not exactly sure where they came from; they were two sisters that just kept showing up on my computer screen. All I knew was that it was my job to tell it.
Success is Never a Guarantee
Being a writer never has a guarantee. There is no promise at the end that it will work out or if it will all be worth it. Over the last twenty years, there has been a transition towards this idea that everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets a reward. It reinforces the idea that people will find success if they follow a certain path. Self-publishing defies this. It has shown that people can create their own way, on their own terms. If this has become the new social stigma, then I'm happy to be a part of it.
But my time in LA was far from a failure. I worked at a literary management company, learned the ropes of a boutique talent agency, sat on the set of TV's best primetime show, Parenthood, and day played as a production assistant for CBS's daytime talk show, The Talk. I witnessed passionate artists every day, and it inspired me to lay down the bricks of my own path. It was in the late nights tucked away in my pillbox-sized studio apartment that I found Dani and Keely's story. I'm not exactly sure where they came from; they were two sisters that just kept showing up on my computer screen. All I knew was that it was my job to tell it.
Success is Never a Guarantee
Being a writer never has a guarantee. There is no promise at the end that it will work out or if it will all be worth it. Over the last twenty years, there has been a transition towards this idea that everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets a reward. It reinforces the idea that people will find success if they follow a certain path. Self-publishing defies this. It has shown that people can create their own way, on their own terms. If this has become the new social stigma, then I'm happy to be a part of it.
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