The Indelibles: I Am Not Alone

I began my indie journey with lots of prayer and lots of rejections. I had pitched my novel to several publishing houses and agents and had gotten some great rejections. The decision to go indie wasn’t easily made. There was an inordinate sense of loneliness.

I was going it alone. Me against the world…including the millions of other authors who too had decided to take the indie path. I was my own boss, the captain of my ship, mistress of my own fate (ran out of clichés but you get the point). It also didn’t help that so many traditional publishing professionals wrote warning after warning about going it alone, praising the safety of a publishing house.

But once I decided to take the plunge, I found something surprising. I wasn’t alone. I found that I was surrounded by support in people who believed in my writing and believed in me. The only difference was none of the people worked in publishing houses.

It took me a while to realize that the answer to my loneliness was right in front of my face. I took a minute to see something I recently told my daughter about her schoolwork: It’s not always about knowing the answer. Sometimes you only need to know how to find the answer.

I found the answer to my loneness in the community around me. I had my husband, who is my biggest supporter/cheerleader/task master/accountability partner. I had my two friends, who are avid readers and loved me enough to tell me when my writing sucked. And how can I forget my readers, who loved my novel and didn’t mind calling, texting and squealing to tell me so.

I even found support in other writers. It’s true at first that I felt like I was in competition with other authors. In a sense I am, but in another sense, indie authors are my companions, walking out this indie life with me.

Indie authors are not alone. We just have to recognize the support we have around us.