I am so thrilled to be part of Ali Cross's BECOME blog tour. Ali and I met through a mutual friend. As soon as we started chatting, I knew she was destined for great things. And then I read BECOME - not this version (this one is EVEN BETTER), but one of the versions while she was deciding what she wanted to ultimately do with it - query, shelve, indie publish. I knew the minute I read it this was NOT a book that should be shelved. And I am so glad Ali found the courage to follow her gut and her heart and see her dream realized. She has been such a source of inspiration for me.
But this post is about ALI and BECOME.
When I asked Ali to come over and visit my blog, I asked her if she could share a bit of her wisdom - tell us about her shift in thinking and how she has managed to embrace Indie publishing as she has. Man, she did not disappoint.
So, without further adieu, take it away Ali:
Self-publishing used to be a dirty word. And then it became
a trend. Well, no one likes dirty words and no one likes to be a follower. We
all want to be trend setters, movers and shakers, powerful and awesome.
So I’m here to today to say be awesome! Be powerful!
Don’t follow a trend, define it.
I’m grateful to Christine for letting me post here today.
She and I have been talking a lot lately about self-publishing and whether or
not it’s for her. Because it’s not for everyone. Traditional publishing requires
you to put your faith in others (a hard thing to do), while self-publishing
requires you to put your faith in yourself (equally hard to do—maybe more so).
Self-publishing is not
a dirty word. True, there are many who self-publish without properly vetting
their novel. But just because anyone can do it, doesn’t mean everyone will do
it well. But this road to publication isn’t a bad one, it’s just a different
one.
Sure, self-publishing is on the rise. It’s becoming more and
more acceptable to choose it. Choosing to go that route does not mean you’ve
failed at publishing or that you are settling for something else—because this
road isn’t a bad one, it’s just a different one.
Publishing today reminds me of the old Scottish song, The
Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomand. You know the one that goes, “Oh! Ye’ll take the
high road | and I’ll take the low road | and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye . .
.” Self-publishing will get us to published
sooner than traditional publishing, but it’s neither better nor worse.
You are not less for choosing to self-publish, nor are you
following a trend—not if you choose to travel this path for the right reasons.
Choose to self-publish because it’s the road you want to
travel. Because you have faith in yourself and in your ability to publish well.
Choose to publish traditionally because it’s the road that suits you. Because
you desire to work as a team, and you have the opportunity to be
well-represented.
Whichever road you take, make sure you are prepared for the
journey—that you are ready for what will come, for what will be asked of you
and, most importantly, that your story is the very best it can be. Set your own
trend of awesome and whichever road you choose will take you exactly where you
want to be—published.
See what I mean! Isn't Ali amazing.
But don't take my word for it - go and
read BECOME for yourself. Trust me, this book is amazing (I'll be reviewing it in the next week).
