The Road So Far...

     So, as you might know, I've been writing for some years now and getting better as times goes on. At least, I think so! 
     Naturally, the first thing I did to start my journey to becoming a self-published author was to find out what type of stories I enjoy reading about. What is my passion? Well, that part was easy...Fiction! I love to read about new worlds, magical or non-magical and travel adventurous journey's along with the characters. I've read romance, mystery, fantasy, science fiction and paranormal. So out of those types of books, I enjoy reading fantasy fiction most.
Step 1: Check!

     What I did after that was, research. I researched any and everything about writing a great fantasy series, self publishing books, what has and hasn't been written and just about anything on marketing. It was so much information, my brain was overwhelmed! So, I found one particular author whose work I loved to read and I found out what they did; what worked for them and what didn't work and set my own timeline for my books.
Step 2: Check!

     The next step I made, was to copyright my work, even though I was just starting out. I also started building my fan-base on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other main social media sites. Honestly, I didn't really focus much on it as I should have but, it's a work in progress.
Step 3: Check!

     Next, I wrote! And wrote...and slept, and wrote, and ate and wrote. I would eat, sleep and breathe writing! Not that I didn't enjoy it, but I became...a writer. I set a time with the minimum of 30 minutes but, mostly I wrote for at least 5 hours a day or however long it would take me to write 5,000 words per day. I wrote until my first book was completed.
Step 4: Check!

     Well, what came after that, you ask? I read my own book, of course! And edited, tweaked it here and there, and read it again. I then took time to find professional editors and self publishing companies.I uploaded my novel and had them edit it professionally. I've read so many authors, self published and traditionally publish alike, say that you should skip this. And I agree 100%. Besides, you want the best for a novel, right?
Step 5: Check!

     After finding a self-publishing company, I found a professional book cover designer and had my cover made exactly the way I wanted. Many people use pre-made covers but I had a different course set for my fantasy series. I also found an illustrator for the illustrations inside of novel. Lots of intensive searching for the right illustrator but I eventually found him. Book cover, Illustrations and editing were now completed.
Step 6: Check!

     Whew!!! Who ever knew self-publishing was so exhausting? Wonderfully so, I think! Well everything is falling into place for me and my book is starting to look more and more like a shelf-worthy read. Now what? Interior! And that...is what I am currently working on!
If you are reading this, please let me know if anyone has any advice or would like to share their steps on becoming published. Everyone has different views and ways of doing their own thing, so no way is the wrong way! I'd love to hear what others are doing on their journey!

Stay tuned for more about my Journey to Becoming a Self-published Author!