My Publishing Journey: One Month Later

Last month, I released my debut novel, Fire & Flight, the first in my young adult fantasy series, the Heirs of Tenebris trilogy. It’s still crazy to think that I’m a published author and that the book I spent nearly seven years writing is just out there. In the world. For all to read…I’m still wrapping my head around it! Now you may be wondering to yourself, “so, what are you doing now? What’s it like being a published author?” and those are all questions I intend to answer right here, right now. For so many writers the dream is to become a published author, and the journey to making that a reality is a long one that I don’t think many of us allow ourselves to truly reflect on what the reality of a being published author looks like. I know for me, I was a big dreamer. The glitz and glam of a bestselling author consumed my dreams and motivated me to publish Fire & Flight, but the truth is, things have been quiet on the published author front since release week, and honestly? I’m enjoying it so much more than the dream!

Fire & Flight’s launch week was a thrilling ride that left me feeling the highest of joys but also like I’d been swept up in a tornado. Thankfully, I was warned that things would slow down after release week, so this last month has been spent tackling social media and other opportunities to keep the momentum going. Most importantly though, I’ve used the excitement of Fire & Flight’s release week to launch me into the sequel. And that’s what’s coming next.

I don’t have many details to share yet, but I can assure you that I can see the finish line. With a personal deadline of finishing my revisions by the end of this month, being able to see the finish line has made me realize that I’ll get to do a read-through of draft two before September! For now, all readers can expect is vague social media posts teasing parts and sneak peeks into the sequel, but I’ve got some ideas in the works to help pique your interest ????

As for what’s it like to be a published author, not much has changed in my day-to-day life. I’m still writing, my favorite office is still my backyard, and I’m consumed by my work so much so that there’s no time for anything else…well except to check on social media but that’s *technically* part of the job description. Maintaining a presence online has been a priority for me, mainly to keep in touch with the author friends I’ve made over this past year, though I also want to stay in touch with my readers and let y’all know what’s going on between blog posts…and post up those EoE (book 2, full title to be released soon????) teasers!

When I first sought to publish Fire & Flight, I never would’ve dreamed that its success would bring me here, but I’m so glad that it did. If you were to ask me what my biggest achievement was through this whole process, I would say it’s connecting with other writers and readers online. I cannot even begin to express how much joy it brings me to get messages from these friends telling me they got my book or being tagged in a piece of writing they’d posted and wanted to share. It’s with that feeling I realized I wanted to build a community. Yes, I’d like to see my young adult fantasy series out in the world, but I also want it to mean something not just to myself, but to other people as well. And that’s what I’m ultimately building my author brand around: the idea of a community for readers and writers alike to interact with not only my works, but others’ as well. With the second draft of the sequel coming to a close, I can’t help but wonder where its journey will take me, but I couldn’t be more excited to share it with all of you!