Ups and Downs – the life of a hybrid author

Published October 17, 2012 | By emily

This last week has been filled with ups and downs. It started out last Thursday with a photo shoot for Things Hoped For, the first book in my Of Great Value series. I’d decided to self-publish it after traditional publishers were unwilling to take the burden of an 8 book series. (which I totally understand). Being that this is a niche market (Young Women) within a niche market (LDS themes), as well as the fact that I have a pretty solid platform to start from – well it all seemed like a logical jump.

At first I was feeling a little defeated but after Thursday, seeing the beautiful cover drafts and getting my interior formatting done, I’m getting really excited!

So that was the “up” part.

The “down” came when an agent that seemed to be really interested in A Sister’s Witness ended up declining. It’s always hard to get your hopes up and then have it not work out, but for some reason this one was especially tough. She wrote a very nice, detailed and personal note, however. That was helpful and encouraging.

So this morning I got a fresh batch of queries out and BAM! We had a request from one of the agents before lunch. Another UP!

I guess with everything going on, I’m going to title myself a hybrid author. There are unique challenges in handling both the traditional and independent publishing worlds at the same time. But I guess I’m ready for the challenge.

What are the challenges you are facing as an author? Any other Hybrids out there who want to share their experiences?

EDITED TO ADD: Just as I was about to post this, ANOTHER request came in. Two in one day can’t be bad, right? I should re-title this post UP, Up and Away!