Book News + My April Goals

What a month March was. I changed my Instagram name, you can now find me here: @tayloreppersonwrites. I made the change because I wanted to still be a part of the bookish community, but focus more on my writing efforts as I work towards being a published author.

My March goals went well. I started working on my new book (full update coming soon!) and it’s going really well. I didn’t write quite 30k, but I am writing again and it feels so good. We also finished paying off our debt!! HOORAY! That feels so good 😊 I took a pretty big step back from blogging, and I’ll be sharing more about what my blog will look like in the coming months in this post.

All in all, March was really good and I’m really excited for April. My only goal in April is to finish writing my first draft because…..

I’ve got some book news!

Up until a few weeks ago, I’d always thought I’d go the traditional route to be published. This means writing a novel, editing and making it as solid as it can be, and then pitching to agents until they ask for a full manuscript. At some point you do get picked up by an agent, then you keep editing the book (working with an editor) as the agent pitches your book to publishers until one of them buys it and you eventually get published. (You do all the editing steps as a self-published author too, just without such a large team)

You have a whole team around you, you don’t have to market the book yourself as the publisher helps with that, and there are a lot more eyes on your work.

Self-publishing was something that I wasn’t sure I was interested. Not because I think books by Indie (self-pubbed) authors are bad, but because it didn’t seem like the ‘right’ way to be published.

Then a few weeks ago, everything changed.

I can’t tell you exactly what shifted in my mind, but for several days, the sole thought in my mind was “you have to self-publish” “you need to give self-publishing a try” or some other variation of that. But I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I felt like God or the Universe was trying to tell me something and I decided to listen.

I will be self-publishing in the future (maybe sooner than you think!)

This post isn’t an announcement that I’ve got a book ready to release. In fact, I don’t. Not yet anyway. But this (self-publishing) is something that I am going to do and wanted to share this part of that journey with you. I’m working hard on my book and hoping to have it in your hands as soon as it’s ready!

I’ve got a publishing plan and am finally making this dream of mine happen. Nearly all my life I’ve wanted to be an author. It’s never been about being a huge, famous author. I love stories and I want to write them and share them with people. Going in this direction means that it will happen sooner and I’ll have more flexibility.

Wondering when you’ll be able to read my first book? The best way to get all important updates is to sign up for my author newsletter.

The second best way is to follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. These are the platforms where I’ll be sharing news after I’ve shared it in my newsletter.

I’m very excited for this next step in my writing journey, and I hope you come along!! If you have any questions about self-publishing or my book/writing, leave them in the comments below!

What does this mean for my blog?

I’ve been blogging for over a decade at this point. Blogging is something that I love and will continue to do but on a much smaller scale. As of right now (April 2021), you can expect to see a new blog post on the first of every month which will be about my goals + goal setting. And possibly another post here and there, depending on what is happening in the publishing process.

For the past few years, it’s become obvious to me that I continued to choose to blog over book writing. While I love blogging, it isn’t my true dream, which is why I’m shifting focus to what really is important to me right now. This step, of working towards publication is so freaking exciting and also terribly nerve-wracking. But I’m going for it and doing it anyway, because I know that if I don’t, it’s the one thing I’ll regret at the end of my life.

So if you’ve been going back and forth on whether or not now is the time to take that first step towards your big goals or dream, this is your sign.

I’d love to hear about your goals this month or what you’ve been working on in the comments! Happy April!