15 YEARS AS AN AUTHOR
I know I've done a video on this, which can be found here, but since the 10th falls on a Monday this year, it made sense to do a blog post as well. For those who don't know, on August 10th 2005, my début novel was released into the world for the first time! That makes it 15 years since I officially became an author. I've celebrated this day every year since that first authorversry but this one seems extra special because 15 years is a long time!
I could do the same as my video and talk about what I've done over that time, but I don't wanna be repeating myself so instead I'm gonna take you back 15 years and talk about that release day. Things were different then, the world wasn't in lockdown, and I lived in a one bedroom flat with B and a very young Miss D who'd been born the previous October. I had my release day party in B's three bedroom flat, because I had a bunch of friends who came over to celebrated with me. It was a three day party and while I've never done a lauch party since, it is a very good memory, even though a lot of the people present are no longer in my friend circles.
So imagine this, I was a younger Joey, 23 years old, and finally getting to have my first book out on shelves and on Amazon. I had longer hair, and wasn't in a wheelchair to the extent that I am now. My lungs were a lot more stable, so not on oxygen. I hadn't even thought of things like Authortube or the like. I was a baby author and there weren't things like ebooks, so Blackout was only in paperback.
And while it's been re-editied and relaunched since then, I still do have one of those first paperbacks and it's signed by everyone who was there that day and it's a nice thing to have. Fast forward to 2011, and I was releasing Blackout on KDP and taking the indie author title in my hands and calling it mine. I also released my second book, and from there planned to release one book a year.
And I haven't really looked back since, I've released almost eighteen books, which my eighteenth coming out on October 13th! I have them all in paperback and ebook and am wide across all platforms. On top of that, I've had new covers for the earlier books and am now making sure I have a good cover before it's ever seen by people. I've gotten an author platform, started this blog, and have been posting and writing, and my whole routine has changed when it comes to both releases and writing.
When I wrote Blackout, I'd had the idea for so long that it just poured out of me. Writing my third book, I was realising that it was going to take me longer and longer to finish them because I hadn't been holding that idea in my head for a good six years before I put pen to paper. I have switched from handwriting to typing full time. I have drafted over thirty books, and am about half way through two others. I have my routine that works well for me. I draft two books, revise another and am usually in editing stages with another, depending on the time of year.
Overall, this has been an amazing ride to be on, and I can't wait to see what the next five, ten, fifteen years mean for me as an author. I love that this is my job, love that I get to create worlds and characters and all of that. And I love that my readers have been here along for the ride. Long may it continue!
I know I've done a video on this, which can be found here, but since the 10th falls on a Monday this year, it made sense to do a blog post as well. For those who don't know, on August 10th 2005, my début novel was released into the world for the first time! That makes it 15 years since I officially became an author. I've celebrated this day every year since that first authorversry but this one seems extra special because 15 years is a long time!
I could do the same as my video and talk about what I've done over that time, but I don't wanna be repeating myself so instead I'm gonna take you back 15 years and talk about that release day. Things were different then, the world wasn't in lockdown, and I lived in a one bedroom flat with B and a very young Miss D who'd been born the previous October. I had my release day party in B's three bedroom flat, because I had a bunch of friends who came over to celebrated with me. It was a three day party and while I've never done a lauch party since, it is a very good memory, even though a lot of the people present are no longer in my friend circles.
So imagine this, I was a younger Joey, 23 years old, and finally getting to have my first book out on shelves and on Amazon. I had longer hair, and wasn't in a wheelchair to the extent that I am now. My lungs were a lot more stable, so not on oxygen. I hadn't even thought of things like Authortube or the like. I was a baby author and there weren't things like ebooks, so Blackout was only in paperback.
And while it's been re-editied and relaunched since then, I still do have one of those first paperbacks and it's signed by everyone who was there that day and it's a nice thing to have. Fast forward to 2011, and I was releasing Blackout on KDP and taking the indie author title in my hands and calling it mine. I also released my second book, and from there planned to release one book a year.
And I haven't really looked back since, I've released almost eighteen books, which my eighteenth coming out on October 13th! I have them all in paperback and ebook and am wide across all platforms. On top of that, I've had new covers for the earlier books and am now making sure I have a good cover before it's ever seen by people. I've gotten an author platform, started this blog, and have been posting and writing, and my whole routine has changed when it comes to both releases and writing.
When I wrote Blackout, I'd had the idea for so long that it just poured out of me. Writing my third book, I was realising that it was going to take me longer and longer to finish them because I hadn't been holding that idea in my head for a good six years before I put pen to paper. I have switched from handwriting to typing full time. I have drafted over thirty books, and am about half way through two others. I have my routine that works well for me. I draft two books, revise another and am usually in editing stages with another, depending on the time of year.
Overall, this has been an amazing ride to be on, and I can't wait to see what the next five, ten, fifteen years mean for me as an author. I love that this is my job, love that I get to create worlds and characters and all of that. And I love that my readers have been here along for the ride. Long may it continue!
Congratulations on 15 years of being an author! That's pretty cool.
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