The Dragon's Daughter: One-Month Post-Release

It’s been just shy of a month since I published my novel The Dragon’s Daughter. For anyone considering self-publishing, I can only say, “Go for it!” Go for it professionally—but go for it.

As I’ve mentioned before in other posts, I was very hesitant to self-publish. However, now that I’ve done it, I’ve got nothing but positive things to say. Want to hear some of those? OK … here goes:

1.       It’s rewarding. There are no words to describe what it feels like—every single time—someone connects with me and says, “I read your book in two days—couldn’t put it down. I loved it!” I have been overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude (for people willing to take a chance on an unknown author) and happiness (that people are enjoying a book I poured so much of myself into).

2.       It’s fun! Yes, it’s also very scary, but it is so much fun to offer a book to the world and wait and watch to see what will happen. It’s fun to talk to people about it, to introduce them to my book, and to watch their eyes light up when they say, “I’m gonna check that out!”

3.       It’s challenging. I like to be challenged, so this is a positive for me. It’s challenging to continue to look for ways to reach new readers. It’s challenging, trying to figure out how best to market my book in a way that people will find it and be enticed by it. I enjoy being tested like this.

4.       It’s cooperative. I’m not doing this alone, and that’s so cool too. I have so many people (my husband, my daughter, and my mom, first and foremost) who are working with me to spread the word that I have a book out there and that it’s worth checking out. They’re having fun too, and they enjoy it as much as I do when I share a new review or update them on my sales. I may have self-published, but I didn’t do it—and I’m not doing it—all by myself.

5.       I’m in control. For better or worse—and time will tell on that—the success of my book is pretty much up to me. Without a publishing house behind me, I have to figure out (with the help of my aforementioned little army) what to do with it. But I see this as a positive too. A publishing house might give up on me much sooner than I would give up on me (which is NEVER!) and then I’d be stuck. They would have the rights to the book, and I could do very little to nudge it along.

I am so glad that I put The Dragon’s Daughter out there. I’m proud of this story, and I’m happy to say that more and more of you are finding it and enjoying it. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Thank you for giving it a shot! And if you haven’t checked it out yet, you can find The Dragon’s Daughter on Amazon and at the NOOK Book Store online.