Posted on 2013-Jun-17
Leaving a Comfortable Life Behind
To quit your day job that anyone can dream of and pursue the writer’s profession can be quite liberating for many. To complicate the matter, what if you already earn more than 400K plus enviable benefits? How could one decide to walk away from everything and take a big risk in writing? As far as our main interest is concerned, the story of Jude Hardin who guest blogged on Joe Konrath’s website about his unconventional effort, will tell how he has survived as a professional author and never regretted the choice he made.
Personal Struggle
Like the initial phase of living one’s dream, he had made more progresses to write several novellas and a short story and sign the contract with an Amazon imprint. The honeymoon period, laden with passionate creativity, was gradually diminished when the his were below his expectations. Furthermore, only two out of four books were published last year. He admits that the sales alone are not enough to make a living. However, when the third book was launched this month, the good reviews restored his confidence.
Bold Decision
Instead of demanding a lucrative package from a traditional publisher, he stood by his decision working with Amazon. His reason is he has wanted to be an indie author and the full-length novel will be an interesting project. Essentially, he saw the potential in one of his books to be developed as a longer form of fiction. While he had been busy with his books, he did not have enough time to develop the characters in the series. Joe Konrath told him about his personal experience when he obtained the rights back from the publisher. Joe was pretty open with the idea of trying different ideas with them.
Flexible Opportunity
That was when creativity came in and Jude realized the potential of his creation. He saw the opportunity in eBooks, which do not need to necessarily follow a chronological order. The prequel to his series was flexibly initiated for this reason. Now that the sky was the limit, possibilities flooded in his brain. He could flexibly write prequels and the spinoff books at the same time. Time will tell whether his success story from now on can be made possible and his blog will be the record of every single activity. Jude looks to the future with bright optimism.
Working with A-Pub and Diversifying Your Genres
Joe Konrath tells the story of how he has spent a number of good fourteen years establishing himself to get where he is at. Dealing with Amazon Publishing (A-Pub) seems to be the best channel for him for discoverability. In his opinion, he thinks Jude makes a smart move securing deals with both Amazon Publishing and self-publishing via KDP, in particular, but there is no limit to what his future plan is. Apart from working closely with Amazon, diversification is another great key for all authors to push the boundary of their creativity. Having different pen names can free up your particular genre and unlock your potentials in a whole new territory. Apart from Jude’s familiar genre, Joe suggests that Jude consider branching out to find his audience. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep writing. Keep trying new things. And stay positive…” Joe concludes.
Label: Self-Publishing
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