Give Yourself Permission
It feels like it was only yesterday that I had zero books published.
I spent much of my life wanting to publish and feeling convinced that I was not ready to publish. That changed in 2021. And now, in 2023, I have four books published. If this sounds really fast or surprising to you, multiply that by ten, and that’s how surprising it sounds to me.
My mother-in-law very charmingly said, “I didn’t know you were going to be as prolific as Stephen King.”
Neither did I, but then again, I can understand how it happened.
You know how they say you need to give yourself permission? It’s the truth.
In 2021, after many years of holding back, searching for that perfect agent (or any agent at all, to be honest), I finally gave myself permission. To share my work. To put it out there. To take the risk.
At the same time, a lot of things in the self-publishing world had happened that encouraged me to take matters into my own hands. The technology to self-publish in a reasonable, more affordable manner had been created, for one, and a public that was willing to venture beyond the traditional publishers’ offerings had arrived, for another. The scene was set. The option, clear.
The more I thought about agents and editors and the lagging time frame and possible rewrites they would want me to make to suit their vision for my book (should I land one of them), the more I liked the idea of becoming a self-publisher and making all of the decisions.
But I was afraid to make the leap. I had several reservations, for sure. The biggest was, How hard is it to produce something worthy? Can I handle it? Is it possible for someone who has never published to publish a quality product?
Everything is possible. And now I’m very comfortable with that responsibility.
NEW BOOK!
Staked: A Vampire’s Tale
Can an angel also be a monster?
Surrounded by four walls, without light or space in which to move, Gregorie Babin has become what he envisions as a mollusk inside of a shell. Is he alive or dead, or perhaps in some kind of purgatory or hell? The answer lies in a past he no longer remembers. It is only when random forces break him out of this perpetual darkness that he can begin to know the devastating truth—and what it means for his future.
Staked is a speculative journey of a young man’s desperate desire to get back home to the ones he loves.
After being held back for so many years, the floodgates have opened.
It turns out, I never needed anyone’s permission but my own. And neither do you.
I write because I absolutely love to write. Self-publishing is hard work, for sure, but it’s true that when you love to do something, you just have to do it. It isn’t a question. You must give yourself permission to put in the time, energy, and funds that are necessary to get the job done.
Will I try to write two books a year, or maybe become one of those people who churns out a new manuscript every two or three months? Two books a year is possible for me, but not more. I’m struggling to find balance as it is! (Click for blog post here.)
Honestly, I take it one book at a time. I see how it goes. When the book is ready, it’s ready. Then I move on to the next one. Last year, I tried to write two simultaneously novels and quickly learned that that is not something I can handle. Nor is it something I want to do at this point in my busy life. Too hard and stressful!
Today Book 1 of the Angel of Death series launches. Staked: A Vampire’s Tale and its protagonist, Gregorie Babin, came to me one morning in between dreaming and wakefulness, and I scribbled the idea into a notebook. I wrote a few chapters and let the story simmer on the backburner while I wrote and published the third Jovian Universe book. I didn’t really worry that I needed to hurry. The idea appealed to me each time I went back to it, so I stuck with it. And now it has arrived, and I’m very proud of it.
Next up for me is Book 4 in The Jovian Universe. The title is The Moon Children, and I’m ready to dive back into the Jovian’s sci-fi world. Hopefully I will launch the book in spring of next year. The Jovian Universe series will be five books when complete.
Five books, you may be thinking, plus Staked and two more to round out the Angel of Death trilogy. That would be eight books by 2025. What!
It's possible, but only because I have given myself permission. And whatever your plans, goals, or dreams, you should give yourself permission too.
Thank you all so much for your interest and support, and thank you for coming along on my self-publishing journey!
Kim Catanzarite is the author of Staked: A Vampire’s Tale as well as the award-winning Jovian Universe sci-fi series. She is a freelance writer and editor for publishers and independent authors, and she teaches copyediting for Writer’s Digest University. Her Self-Publishing 101 blog discusses the ins and outs of indie life as well as all things writing craft. Kim lives on the east coast USA with her husband and daughter.
