L.A. Garnett – Author

I queried The Spiraling, and have been rejected about a hundred times. I brushed it off for a while—you hear stories all the time about authors whose work was rejected and then BAM, they are an international bestseller. After a few dozen, though, constant rejection starts to feel a little personal.

In our modern age of publishing there are truly countless ways of getting your stories out into the world. Most readers think of traditional publishing first and foremost, because those are the authors that really stick in our minds and whose books are talked about time and time again. That isn’t the only way though.

I wanted my book in the world and, over the years, I became more and more confident in my ability to do it myself.

Self-publishing is a wonderful and freeing option for authors who want more control over their vision. Instead of having a publisher make most major decisions for you, in exchanging for promoting your book with all of the resources available to them, the author gets to do it themselves. This can be a stressful process for someone more comfortable with writing works of fiction. You need to find an editor you can trust, a cover artist you like, and learn to market in an increasingly complicated world. It’s hard! I didn’t start writing with the goal of also learning marketing best practices and visual design, but here we are!

Now that my book has been out for a month or so, I wouldn’t change how I published it. I’m glad it’s out there, and that people are reading it, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.

The Spiraling, my debut fantasy novel, is out now! Check it out anywhere you buy books online.