MARK OF ETERNITY
I can pinpoint the exact moment my author journey started. It was on a bus ride home from school and I was daydreaming about a fan-animation I wanted to do for a game I played at the time (I’m massively into Gmod and SFM animations and I’ve always had a soft spot for animated films). Issue was, I can’t draw to save my life (not without many attempts at learning) and then it clicked in my head. If I can’t draw the story I want to tell, why not use words, instead?
The toughest part of being self-published is being noticed. There’s no sugar-coating it, there’s a lot (a LOT) of fish in the sea and we are all vying for the limited attention of our readers. It’s a discouraging feeling because we put so much effort into our work only for it to be left sitting on the shelf never to be read because it just didn’t catch the attention of readers.
The best part is the flexibility we have. We don’t have deadlines to work to. We don’t have certain criteria we have to fulfill. We can write whatever story we want because we are the filtering element. Couple this with the recent proliferation of print-on-demand services like KDP and eBooks, now it’s easier than ever to get our work before prospective readers and really edge out a little corner of the reading world for us to inhabit.
I wouldn’t say book. More like a series. The Horus Heresy series is a massive collection of novels, novellas, anthologies, audio books and short stories by Black Library and it has had an immense influence over my writing. It’s altered my prose and how I handle descriptions and characters. It being based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, its all about action which often doesn’t work with my stories but its great character and universe development over decades and dozens of books has really inspired me to try and do the same.
Write what you want. But make sure it’s good! I mentioned above that, as indie writers, we are the filtering element of what we put out but that doesn’t mean we just pump out all manner of garbage. It's something I’ve seen all too often; writers putting out what is essentially low-quality, low-effort works for a quick turnaround (and don’t get me started on AI-written stories). If you want to write, show pride in your work. Make quality stories. Take your time with them. Put effort in. Being a writer is one of the most time-consuming hobbies/jobs out there because we put so much of ourselves into our work and in this world where there are a million books being put out every day, a quality story will eventually shine through the junk.
Also, get amongst the writing community ASAP. I left it until I was literally publishing Mark of Eternity before I started to interact with everyone and I regret it. Start early, build a network and learn from everyone’s collective knowledge!
