Hello…
Hello…
Is this thing on?
So I “confess” I haven’t really utilized this blog function on my book’s blog website. But this year is about to be different! I want to make this blog active and give my “confessions” of being a writer, being a millennial, being an introvert, being a comedian…over the next couple of months. So lookout for a new post from me about once a month. I can’t dedicate a huge amount of time to blogging because I do have a 9-5 job, writing my second book along with other writing projects, but I want to give you a bit of insight.
So, I can’t believe it but it’s been three years since Confessions of a Frustrated Millennial has been out….I can’t believe it. I remember being so nervous putting it out there. My initial thoughts were:
1. Would people like it?
2. Should I put my full name?
3. What if people don’t like it?
My anxiety was high before putting out this book. First off, this was my first book and some of it was deeply personal so my thoughts were all over the place. I wrote the book when I was in between jobs – so you can see some of that “frustration” in my book was really real. I started it in 2013 with Natasha’s story and then I created the other two because I didn’t want to focus on one character and wanted to give the story a bit more depth. Each character has a bit of me in them.
From there, I wrote on and off for 2013-2015. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to make it a novel because I never finished any of the writings I ever had. But I remember talking to my cousin who is a music producer and he told me the importance of creativity and investing time into an intellectual property project…it was right there I realized that I could create something that was uniquely mine! I could mold it into whatever I wanted to make it –without permission from others. It was then I decided in 2015 to finally finish my book when one of my freelance job contracts ended. I treated writing like a job and wrote the outline and wrote every day until it was finished.
When I finished I cried…I couldn’t believe I actually completed a novel. Mind you, I NEVER finished any stories that I wrote until this point. I would start a story, but never finish. So I decided to make it a reality and explored self-publishing in 2016. Throughout that year, I copyright my book (ALWAYS do that writers – people will try to steal your work…I’m a witness – I’ll get into that topic on another blog post) I worked with an editor and working my self-publisher to create the look of my book. In late 2016, I literally held a proof of my book and it felt like a dream. I saw my name and the cover was super cute with the characters. It still feels surreal to see my name on a book to this day.
In February 2017, I made my debut with my book to my Facebook audience to my friends and family and got such a big reception that my video was shared hundreds of times and had over 5K views. It was crazy. I had people that I didn’t know reaching out to me. I had people asking me for speaking opportunities and book reviews. I even heard from a production company about film rights… To this day, I’m still flattered that people love my story. Being an author has always been a dream of mine and now it’s an actual reality. I love connecting with other aspiring authors because we all have a story that is uniquely ours. I believe there’s space for all of us.
To the people who are writers and working on releasing their first work. Here’s my bit of advice I would provide:
1. Write often: It’s easy to make excuses of why not to write, but write when you can. If you have downtime find time to write.
2. Have a plan: Outlines for me were essential. It was the blueprint of how my plot would go about. While some authors might not do this, I do recommend that you know where you’re going and your ending. It’s the whole purpose of the story.
3. Find a good editor: We can only edit our stuff so much, we will miss stuff so find an editor that can give you constructive feedback on spelling, grammar, and story flow and structure….learned this the hard way. It’s important.
4. Repeat after me. You’re a writer. I had people tell me they’re an aspiring writer. No, you’re a writer – whether you put our published work out there or not, just say you’re a writer.
5. Celebrate – once you publish your book – celebrate your accomplishment. It’s not easy to put it out there. I wish I celebrated more, but trust me you deserve the pomp and circumstance.
Alright, hope this “confession” was good for you all. Look out for another one next month.
- E. Jefferson