As of today, I have self-published my fifth novel. I began this journey with absolutely no clue what I was doing. I took a chance and my family took that leap of faith with me. Last fall I published four novels, no editor, basically four manuscripts that needed a lot of cleaning up. The stories held up, but the grammar, well, let’s just say I went back to school since then.

One of those novels (The Girl Back Home) hit number one in lesbian/fiction/romance on Amazon.com,  in November, and just stayed there for months. It’s still in the top 5 consistently. The other three took off, as well. I now write full-time and am doing better than I did as a public school teacher.

Lessons learned in my brief publishing career:

  • Self promotion is tedious but necessary.
  • HIRE AN EDITOR
  • Good formatting is essential.
  • Be good to your fans, a reply to an email takes time, but it is worth it in loyalty.
  • Ask for help. Find groups in your genre or groups of authors and ask questions.
  • Read and keep up with changing formats and outlets.

My new novel, Waking Up Gray, hit the market a few hours ago. It’s already selling pretty fast. I am so glad I took that chance back in the fall. My life has changed. I now do what I want to do for a living. If you are on the fence about publishing that book, do the research, prepare a good manuscript, and jump on in. The water is fine.

R. E. Bradshaw

Author of Waking Up Gray, The Girl Back Home, Sweet Carolina Girls, Out on the Sound, and Rainey Days. Coming in July….Rainey Nights

Waking Up Gray by R. E. Bradshaw

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