The Three Most Important Things I Learned as an Author in 2023

As 2023 winds down, I often reflect on all of the amazing accomplishments I've had as an author this year:

• I published my debut novel, Breaking Ryan Baylor, at 42 years young (all while being a full-time working wife and mother of two children).

• I did it completely by myself and for almost no money.

• I made a few sales and had a few page reads on KENP.

• I reached audiences in 5 different countries.

• I gained some friends and even a few (dare I say it) fans.

• I began writing the sequel to my debut novel called Taming Tyler Hayes.

All good things, right?

Sigh.

Here's the problem: I also often reflect on the negatives. I try my hardest not to, but as someone with anxiety, depression, and a really bad case of imposter syndrome, every single day begins by forcing myself to ignore the lies my brain tells me.

You should quit.

You're really not good at this.

Your sales suck.

Your sales ranking is garbage.

You have hardly any reviews.

No one likes what you're putting out there.

Oh, look: no new sales or page reads.

You lost more followers today.

Seriously, why are you even still here?

Every. Single. Day.

And it's exhausting, y'all.

The good news is that I know I'm not alone, and so, if I can use my experience to help someone else, then I call that a win.

So this post is for my fellow authors, all of them, but specifically those who haven't broken into this game yet and are wondering what to expect.

Here are the three most important things I learned as an author in 2023.

1: WRITE THE STORY YOU WANT TO WRITE. Remember why you began writing in the first place. Maybe you wrote fanfiction. Or maybe you just wrote in your spare time. Whatever the reason was, you did it because it brought you joy. If you lose sight of that, if you start letting other people dictate what they think your story should be, or how you should tell it, that joy will be gone and writing will begin to feel like another chore. There were a lot of people who honestly didn't know what to make of my book. It's third-person omniscient POV (which, apparently, is a bad thing?) and it had some of the most complex character dynamics and relationships ever, ending in a way that was completely unexpected and unpredicted. But it's the story I wanted to tell because it's the story my characters told to me. I never lost sight of that, and I encourage you to do the same. If you try to fit some mold, some "cookie cutter" idea of what you think readers want, of what's "in" at the moment, I have some bad news: trends come and go. Your story will be there forever. Make damn sure it's one of which you're proud.

2: PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LET YOU DOWN. That's just life, right? And listen, word to the wise: social media is fake af. I have met some really amazing people on Instagram, some that I'd even call friends at this point, but there is some serious toxicity there as well. I had beta readers flake on me and treat the manuscript I poured my heart and soul into as though it were nothing. That hurt. A lot. I had people tell me they were going to read and review my book and didn't. I've lost followers. I'm pretty sure someone reports my posts/reels in certain hashtags so I don't get as much exposure (based on all the research I've done). I was rating-bombed on my release day, given a one-star rating literal minutes after my book came out. Know what I've learned from all of it? There isn't a damn thing I can do about any of it, so what I'm gonna keep doing is pushing forward, writing my stories, publishing my stories, promoting my stories, and hoping they find their readers. I was positive I'd get some cute edits or reels made for my book. Not one. So: I started making my own. The hard reality is that you cannot control what other people do or how they let you down; a lot of the time, they probably don't even realize they're doing it, honestly. You need to be the person who doesn't let you down.

3: POPULARITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY OR WORTH. Seriously, this is one we all should've taken with us from high school, and yet, here we are. Don't stalk your Amazon sales rank. Don't stalk your KENP. For the love of God, stay away from Goodreads, and do not read your reviews (spoiler alert: I'm still working on all of these things). You will look at your IG feed and see the same books being promoted over and over and over again, and you will wonder, "Why them and not me?" Because they're popular (and in many cases, they have paid for an advertising campaign, have street teams, or have people working with PR companies to promote them). It took me forever to realize this. And some of them might be really good books. But have you ever read that one book that everyone seems to love and it left you scratching your head? You have to understand that just because you're not a best-seller (and, truth: you probably won't be, just based on numbers alone) does not mean your book is garbage. Keep plugging away, keep promoting your book, and hopefully, it'll find its way to its readers. But don't compare yourself to others. It's literally the worst, most unkind thing you can do to yourself.

I hope you find some of these musings useful. This is a rough gig; it's not for the faint of heart, and if you've made it to the point where you're moving forward with it, I wish you all the love and success in the world. I'm always available if you ever have questions or would like to chat, vent, whatever (via email or DM's, or you can message me through my website on the contact page). Be kind to yourself, be kind to your work, and try not to lose sight of the joy that writing brings to your life.

-CH