We’re deep into the holidays here in northern California, and I suspect you are, too.
It’s a great time of the year because it helps to refresh our motivation for what we do. Mixing more than usual in social settings, seeing people we don’t often see reminds us of the context of our lives.
Publishing your own book is a leap of faith, no matter what motivates you. Ensuring that you’re a hero to your readers is the best part of what I do, and why I keep doing it.
So don’t forget that you have a voice that needs to be heard, your story needs to be added to all the stories that make up the whole big cultural vortex out of which we appeared.
2011 has been an explosive year for independent publishing, and there’s no reason to think 2012 is going to be much different. As publishing goes “e,” you—because you want to keep learning new things—are the people who will lead the way.
I sometimes forget that many other people have never seen a blog, Wikipedia, or much of anything online. They will come, and you will be ready for them.
That’s because you want to educate yourself, you want to find out what’s happening in indie publishing, you want to learn about book construction, or you want to find out the cool new ways people are marketing their books.
That makes you pretty rare already. You should give yourself credit, you know. We think we’re a tribe, and we are, but the world is big, and there will be many more people to come.
For me, 2012 will also see the first public launch of The Self-Publishing Roadmap, my new training program, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it.
I salute your investment in yourself. For me, writing here is an honor, and I thank you for that.
Wait, There’s More
Before I break for the holidays I’ve got a great guest post for you tomorrow on the options authors face in considering publication. It’s a complete white paper by Michael J. Dowling, the ghostwriter and editor, and I think you’ll get a lot out of it.
I’ll be back on Sunday with the next installment of the Carnival of the Indies.
Next week I’m going all video (if my plans work out) with interviews about the year coming to an end and what lies ahead. More info on Sunday, so make sure to check in then.
Photo by Dawn Endico
Your cogent and pithy posts have been an invaluable resource for us. We appreciate all the effort and time put into providing us with such insights for book design and marketing. Thank you!
I don’t suppose Auld Lang Syne encompasses nostalgia for acquaintances recently acquired, but as a new reader who discovered your blog via recommendations from another blogger, I certainly appreciate your thorough handling of a wide variety of aspects within your selected domain. It’ll take more than a holiday break to absorb the wealth in your blog archive! Looking forward to more to come in the new year!