#2 My Indie Publishing Disclaimer (AKA Dreaded Timelines & My Evil Plan)
Ah, timelines. If plotting a novel timeline is tough, plotting real life is downright impossible. So, let’s kick this off with a quick disclaimer: I started this publishing journey (and the content you’re reading now) months ago, back when I still had nine lonely queries out of my last batch of 50 for A Little Less Invisible. I knew I needed a website and marketing skills, regardless of whether traditional publishing worked out. But I also knew that I wanted to hedge my bets. I needed a backup plan and a stockpile of usable material in case those nine queries didn’t work out and I ended up indie publishing instead.
And, because I’m a chronic researcher (emphasis on chronic), I dove right in and started documenting everything. Every step. Every oops. Every “Jesus, Mary, Joseph, AND the camel don’t do it like that” learning moment.
I’m writing it all down so you don’t have to suffer through the same mistakes.
And then, this month, once I officially decided that indie publishing was the way I was gonna go, it was on.😈🥳
Now, here we are. I’m finally turning those scattered notes, half-legible sticky reminders, and late-night existential publishing thoughts into actual, real-life blog posts. The content you’re reading is always going to be a little behind where I actually am—because sustainability is the name of the game. That’s the ONLY way I can do this long-term.
Sustainable Indie Publishing (AKA: Why This Isn’t a Real-Time Live Blog)
If you’re also a chronically ill or disabled writer looking at this and thinking, “I want to do that too,” but then immediately following it up with, “But I can’t keep up the pace everyone else does,” STOP RIGHT THERE. Breathe. You can do this—just at your own pace.
I work full-time remotely (because, let’s be real, healthcare is a non-negotiable), so I’ve had to be strategic about my time. What used to be my get-dressed-before-work time, my travel-to-the-office time, my lunch breaks? All converted into writing and editing hours. Once A Little Less Invisible was done, I used the time to query, but when that didn’t seem to be working out, I learned about indie publishing, took a mountain of notes, and then slowly built up this website, these posts, and a social media plan using those stolen minutes throughout the day.
And again, I did this over MONTHS AND MONTHS. One small task at a time.
But the secret sauce? A backlog. I stockpiled as much content as I could before launching this thing so that when bad pain days hit (and they will), I’d have breathing room. If I had tried to blog in real-time, I would have burned out faster than a fart near a welding torch. The goal isn’t to sprint—it’s to make this whole indie author thing sustainable for the long haul. And you can do it too!
Full Transparency: How This Will Work
These posts are always going to be a few weeks behind my actual progress. It’s the only way to keep this sustainable. (My goal is 8 weeks behind, but we’ll see how this goes 😬.)
Right now, indie publishing tasks have overtaken my actual writing. I only have so many spoons, and to get this off the ground, I’ve had to prioritize. No, I don’t love that, but yes, it’s necessary.
But the great thing? Indie publishing lets us do things at our own speed. We can publish books on our own timeline. One that’s kind to our health and our bodies. And sure, could a sloth beat me at a land-speed race on my current speed? Maybe. But progress is progress. I’m slowly but surely getting somewhere. And that’s all that matters 😅.
Are you on a similar indie publishing journey? Let’s be friends! Find me on social media and let’s support each other.
Join the Chaos (AKA My Newsletter)
Want to follow along with my indie publishing adventure? Subscribe to my newsletter! If you ever wondered what indie publishing looks like when you’re balancing limited spoons, full-time work, and an ever-growing to-do list… this is the place. Come join the chaos.
p.s. If you see me doing something silly or have a goldmine of indie publishing resources, please tell me! I don’t know what I don’t know, and I’d love to learn from other authors in the trenches. Tag me with a link to your blog so I can support you too!