#NGAGLessons

I sunk about $800 into reputable #literature #contests (good link below from #ALLi).

They weren't right for me. I have a cross-genre book that's both #YA and #pulp #adventure written to a microscopic audience. One YA judge admitted she was the "wrong reader" for the #novel. I understand. She echoed what many #agents said, which is why I went #indie.

Lesson 3: Contests are wrong for me.

Verdict:👎

Award Link: https://bit.ly/litwards

#writingcommunity #amwriting #writingtips

#NGAGLessons

Before I #queried in earnest, I hired a professional #editor. Two, if you count a friend who beta read & just so happened to BE an editor. The editor I hired formerly taught #CreativeWriting at an Ivy, and between #developmental and #copyediting cost nearly $1k.

Some say a publisher will provide an editor. Perhaps true, but I wanted an edge. She was worth every penny, esp. when I decided to go indie.

LESSON 2: Hire an editor.

Verdict:👍
#amwriting #writingtips #writingcommunity

#NGAGLessons

I didn't go #indie through a #micropress because I had no other choice. I did it because it was the best choice for my particular book. NGAG was a #novel ill-suited to the mainstream #ya #lit landscape where #agents #editors and importantly #readers seek books less male, pale & stale.

Lesson 1: If your book doesn't suit the marketplace go indie, but know it will be expensive & you, not a publisher, will risk loss if there's no audience.

Verdict: 👍
#WritingComminity #writingtips

#NGAGLessons: Preface. In 2018 I wrote the #novel that spoke to my teenage self - an #LGBT #YA coming out tale that mashed up elements of the Hardy Boys, 40s Pulp, Mario Puzo, Ian Fleming, & John LeCarre. Stuff I read at 14 & loved.

I was tired of women writing about sensitive #gay boys in love for a primarily female #ya audience, and thought the industry might want something creative and different - a little dangerous, a little age-inappropriate, a little problematic.

This was a mistake.
/1

It's been a year since I published my debut novel, NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE. Today, the ebook is going wide. For the holidays the price will drop to $2.99.

I wanted to share some lessons I learned and missteps I made in indie publishing this book. I won't do it in a thread, but as a series, #NGAGLessons on Mastodon over the next ten days.

Follow me if this sounds valuable, or search the hash. #writingcommunity #amwriting #indiepublishing #selfpublish

The book 👉 https://books2read.com/u/m2d0dR