That's how long ago I published Branded. To the day.
It was five years ago that I told my husband about this thing called "self-publishing," about an e-reader called a Kindle, about a company called Createspace that you could print your book with.
Five years ago since he told me "why not?"
Because five years and one month ago, I was about ready to give up on BRANDED.
I'd been trying to find an agent who would find me a publisher for five months. I'd recieved around 60+ rejections. Sure, there had been lots of requests to look at it. But in the end, they all had passed. And I was pretty crushed. Because I believed in this project. I'd gotten such good feedback. And I thought it could do something.
So my husband said "why not" and everything changed.
I made a ton of mistakes. I knew nothing about formatting. I didn't have an editor. I had no clue how to market. And I didn't know a single other person who had self-published. This was 2010, before the publishing world changed so dramatically. So boy did I have a lot to learn.
And here we are, five years later. That book that 60+ literary agents rejected has had some 800,000+ downloads, thousands of reviews, and devoted fans. I never saw that coming in 2010 when I was feeling like a failure.
So it's been five years that I've been in this business. I've done well. I'm incredibly blessed and I still marvel every day that I am where I am. There's been times that my head got filled with too much hot air and I've been shot down by a bad review or a dip in income. And I'm grateful for those fiery darts. They keep me humble and remind me that I don't always know what the heck I'm doing. That I am a constant student. That nothing is ever certain.
Thank you all, so much for going on this five year journey for me. You've made all the difference in my life.
As my thank you to you, I'm offering up five SIGNED copies of BRANDED. This is open worldwide. Enter using the form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
20 comments:
Hey Keary. It won't let me enter the sweepstakes. I tried all the ways and it won't do anything. Jaemi King
Jrenae6@yahoo.com
Happy publish-versary!!
As far as never giving up on your dreams, it's usually easier said than done, so I commend you in sticking with yours.
The Fall of Angels series is one if my all time favorite series, so thank you. Thank you for never giving up on your dream. Thank you for putting your baby it into the world for us to enjoy. <3
One thing I learned is it's never to late to chase your dreams. Branded was probably the first if not one of the very first indie books I ever read and I loved it.
Loved this series! <3 Happy 5 year anniversary!
Happy anniversary! I love this series and it was one of the first ones I downloaded on my kindle in 2012
I got this on kindle as a fellow reader mentioned it and it's on my TBR waiting to be read. I'd love a signed copy
Congrats on an amazing 5 years!! Branded was the first series i read by you and still one of my Favortes!!! Thanks for the chance!!!
Wow 5 years!! Congrats..loved the series! I know God only gives us as much as he knows we can handle...quiting might seem like the only answer but tomorrow will always be brighter and will hold much more promise!
Congrats! What a huge milestone!
Congrats on the five years! I look forward to reading!
I figured it out. Happy Anniversary!! Branded along with your other books are AMAZING!!!
I Really enjoyed branded! This series has some of my favorite covers!!! They're amazing! Art! I'm 28 and I'm still working on my dreams! After getting married & having a child, sometimes dreams change, but a life without dreams is not a fun life to live! :) xoxo
Kaylapshirley at gmail
How exciting! ! Never give up, I am so glad you didn't because I LOVED this series!
Thank you for the chance& good luck to everyone!! :)
-Elexis Darden
Ironically I picked this series up again at random today, which also happens to be my daughter's birthday, and went on a web search for you... It's so cool it's also your 5 year anniversary for Branded! Congrats and looking forward to more great reading :)
Thank goodness for your husband!!! I am so glad you figured out the self pub thing....sometimes the powers that be don't get it right. Congratulations!!!!!! Happy Book Birthday!!!
First series I got on my kindle.
Congratulations on all your success Keary! Branded and the Fall of Angels Trilogy is one of my all-time favorites. I've read it multiple times which for me is a sign of true quality. There are many books I've read once and enjoyed that have been put out by big name publishers but few like yours that I loved and have come back to time and again. The fact that you did it on your own is a true inspiration and a great example of why we should not give up on our dreams :)
LOVED this book! Please let me know when a new one comes out. I think you're doing great! Publishers don't know what truly good books are, do they? I've also been rejected like a million times, but I self-published and am working on promoting my books. You're a huge inspiration to me. I think what you've written is amazing!
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It look like an interesting book. I think you must write and publish more books. I really like your work. Mention me if you write a new or latest book. Now its time to avail Star Medical Lab for more information.
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