Break the rules

Over the years I have attended my fair share of conferences and met some lovely people. I have participated in workshops and fantastic writing retreats. You absorb all the information even though some of it may not make sense at the time. I have become friends with many authors, published and not yet published. I belong to multiple writing groups and find the comradery so beneficial as writing can be a solitary endeavor.

I used to follow the rules. Trusting the process. Continuing to do defer to the direction by those who seemed to know the recipe for success. Over time, smaller publishers have been consumed by larger ones – the cost of doing business. Because it is a business and big decisions have to be made on sales projections and marketing and printing, book publishing isn’t a fairy tale.

At one conference I attended, I paid for a critique of a middle grade novel. The response was “write what you know”. Little did she know, I had done lots of research and was doing just that. Self doubt continued to creep in. I had all but given up but then things happened.

I listened to the sage advice of an author/friend – who said to me “tell your story”. Put it out there, don’t do it for anyone else but yourself. What a concept. Another author pushed me to send her my manuscript and provided me with valuable feedback.

A major life event happened in 2024 which caused me to realize time is fleeting and if I am going to do this, well I better get to it. Of course the publishing industry has changed to a come one come all – sign up for print on demand. No more do you have to invest and have thousands of dollars and many boxes in your garage.

And that is what I have done and will continue to do. I will tell the stories I want to tell and make them available for those who might be interested. My motivation, my why, it all began with my kids and although BREAK THE RULES makes for a great title, I really have just adapted to the new landscape which has afforded me the opportunity to tell my stories with much less monetary investment.