YA Indie Carnival: Words of Wisdom

This week at the Carnival we are giving insight into our journey as Indie Writers.  What have we learned?  What pearls of wisdom do we have to share with future Indie Writers?  What do we wish we knew then that we know now?

So here it is, what I've learned in the past two years about being Indie.

1.  You Can't Please Everybody:  This is a great one to start with because I went nuts in the beginning every time I read a bad review on one of my books.  Even the most famous and beloved authors receive bad reviews.  What I think is funny is how ten people can read the same book and totally disagree in their reviews of it.  For instance, a couple will say your characters were fantastic, couldn't be better.  But another person says your characters were poorly developed.  A few people will say you are a great writer while others say you have no idea what you are doing.  On CRUSHED I have heard several people say the pace moves fast, but others complain they were bored until chapter four or five.  You just can't please everybody, so don't even try.

2.  How to Create Great Covers:  Some might argue that I didn't learn this lesson yet, but my covers improve with each one.  Some day soon I will do a post on how to make cool covers using Gimp.  It's a free download in case you are wondering and almost as good as Photoshop.

3.  There Are a Lot of People Like Me Out There:  This one surprised me.  I used to not know a single writer.  Now I know several (my fellow Carnies to name a few) and they are for the most part extremely supportive people.  I love to discuss writing techniques with them and we help each other out on our blogs.  It's been great getting to know so many wonderful writers.

4.  What is a Blog:  Not too long ago I was asking this question.  I would also wonder Who needs a blog?  Now I know.  I have come to love blogging.

5.  There are People Out There Who Want to Read My Books:  When I wrote for Harlequin, I didn't have to worry about letting people know I had books out.  Harlequin did it for me.  People would go to stores like Wal-marts, see my book, and buy it.  Now I have to find new and creative ways to get the word out because there are millions of people who still have no idea that my books exist.  That is the stuff of nightmares.

So, there you have it, a few of the things I've learned as an Indie Writer.  Now go visit my fellow Carnies and hear what they have to say on the subject.  I know I'm going to.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
7.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed	8.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
9.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga	10.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
11.	Ella James	12.	Maureen Murrish
13.	Valerie Sloan	14.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
15.	A Little Bit of R&R	16.	Melissa Pearl