This year will officially mark 10 years of my little, independent publishing venture. In that time I have written and published 15 fiction books, 10 worldbuilding books, and I’ve contributed work to more than 15 anthologies and collections.
But most of all, I have learnt so, so much. Most of it through trial and error, and simply making mistakes.
I’ve learnt how to format ebooks, going from hand-coding to upload-and-go programmes. I’ve learnt how to format paperbacks, through all the common mistakes and refinements. I’ve learnt how to market myself, and my books, and how to analyse and improve performance. And I’ve gone from earning enough in royalties to buy a takeout pizza, to making a good living from publishing.
When I hit ‘publish’ on my first ebook 10 years ago, I had no idea where I might end up. And that’s the most important takeaway from all of this. You just never know where this might take you.
So, let’s get started with my 7 top lessons.
The best advice is the advice that works for you.
There’s no shortage of writing and publishing advice out there, but not all of it will fit your process, your goals, or your circumstances. What works brilliantly for one author might not work for you and your books. And that’s okay. You need to develop a critical eye for advice. Be open to trying new things, but don’t be scared to pass over what doesn’t work for you.
In the early days of my career, while I still had a full-time job and juggled writing around that, I almost gave up altogether after reading an interview with an author I greatly admire. ‘Treat writing like a business,’ they said. ‘Write from 9-5 every day. If you can’t take your writing seriously, you’ll never be a serious author.’ And I realise, now, that that advice came from a place of privilege. As, I believe, all advice does. I couldn’t write full-time, because I had bills to pay. But just imagine, if I had let that advice discourage me. If I had given up. Well, I wouldn’t be here right now, writing this. And you wouldn’t be reading it.
There’s no single path to success.
Some authors hit it big with just one book, others take years to reach their goals. Success isn’t one-size-fits-all, and constantly chasing someone else’s version of it can be exhausting. Define what success looks like for you, and build towards that vision. Some people write for pleasure, some to help others, some to inspire, to get their stories out, or to make a living from it. No goal, no vision, is more noble than another.
Be brave. Be discerning. And find the path that’s right for you. It may take some time, and it may change year-on-year, but life is not static. So your goals and your methods probably won’t be either.
You don’t have to do everything at once.
It’s easy to feel like you need to be on every platform, selling in every format, and doing all the latest marketing strategies at once. But you can build things gradually. Start where you are, do what you can, and expand when you’re ready. Growth happens step by step, not overnight.
If you want to start solely with Amazon, do that. If you want to, later, add your books to other platforms, do that. If, someday, you want to start selling direct, do that. It doesn’t all need to be done on the first day. Grow, adapt, and learn in your own time. You’re not in a race with other authors. You’re probably not even on the same track as most of them. Stay focused on your goals, your strengths, and your own timeline.
Persistence will take you further than talent.
Talent helps, but the authors who succeed aren’t always the most gifted writers. They’re the ones who keep going. Writing, publishing, and marketing all come with challenges, but if you’re willing to learn, adjust, and push through the tough moments, you’ll get further than you ever expected.
There have been so many times when this has all felt too hard, or like I’m just treading water and shouting into the void. It would have been so much easier to give up. But now, I wouldn’t give this up for the world. But don’t think that it’s just plain sailing for me now. Just like raising children, the challenges just change at each stage. Whether you persist through passion, compulsion, stubbornness, or even spite, it doesn’t matter. Just persist. You never know where it might take you.
You can write what you love and make it marketable.
You don’t have to choose between writing from the heart and writing something that sells. Those things don’t need to be mutually exclusive. The key is to find the overlap between the two, to understand your audience and the publishing landscape while staying true to your voice. It might take time to find that balance, but it is possible.
If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to learn more about my genre. To read the genre more critically. Understanding things like tropes, story arcs, and archetype characters wouldn’t have changed the heart and soul of the stories I wrote, but it would have given me a guide, and it would have made describing (and, therefore, marketing) my books so much easier. Clarity and confidence come faster when you know the landscape you’re writing in.
Writing for money doesn’t mean ‘selling out’.
Some people speak about writing for love, not money, as though it’s some kind of moral high ground. As if passion and profit can’t co-exist. But the truth is, getting paid for your work doesn’t cheapen your creativity; it allows you to keep creating. Stories have value, and so does your time and effort.
If your goal is to make a living as an author, you’re running a business, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Romanticising the image of the ‘starving artist’ perpetuates the myth that creatives shouldn’t be paid for their work. That art is valueless. And it makes it significantly harder for working-class and other marginalised voices to break through. You can’t pay your rent in passion or principles. Getting paid means you can keep writing, keep creating, and keep sharing the stories only you can tell.
Release day is just one day in your book’s life.
So much pressure is placed on the day of a book’s release, and it’s all too easy to get fixated on the launch. But success isn’t defined by a single 24-hour period. Books can find their audience months or even years after release. You can re-launch entire series further down the line, refreshing the covers, updating the blurbs, hitting new marketing strategies you’ve learnt along the way. Your writing career isn’t about one book or one moment; it’s about the long game.
Every book you publish stays in your corner. It doesn’t vanish after launch day, it keeps working in the background. And each new book you release leads readers to the ones that came before, giving your whole catalogue a fresh chance to be seen and loved. Your backlist isn’t old news; it’s your biggest ally.
These are the lessons I wish I’d had in my first year; hard-earned, honest, and here to remind you that you’re not alone on this journey. I’ve turned them into a bitesize zine you can buy, print, and keep nearby for whenever you need a little encouragement (or a nudge in the right direction). Stick it on your wall, tuck it in your notebook, or keep it close to your writing space, so the next time doubt creeps in, you’ll have something solid to lean on.
