In this first Indie Author Diaries, I published my first book! How do I feel? How did it go? And what happened since I published Battle Heat? You read it all in this post.
Indie Author Diaries: Published My First Book
So, if you don’t know me yet: I’m Britt, and I’ve been officially a published author since the 14th of February 2022. Publishing my debut novel, Battle Heat, was an immense journey. It was an uphill climb, but there were a lot of highs, too. Not everything went the way I wanted it to, but that’s life. It throws you curveballs to see how you respond. I need to learn to roll with it (life in general) way more.
Now, I didn’t choose the easiest route to do this. Besides writing the book (which, in my opinion, is the most challenging part), I also decided to translate it and publish it myself. Which I freaking did! I did it all by myself, except for the book cover illustration (made by Till & Dill) and professionally editing the book in both languages. And oh boy, do I have a lot to say about it! Be prepared for future posts on self-publishing.
Response to Battle Heat (& Vechtlust)
The reactions, reviews, and messages I received so far about Battle Heat made me so happy! The response has been very positive so far, and I’m so proud of the feedback I’ve gotten. The most prominent comment was that people got sucked into the story and flew through it. What more could I want from my first book?
Curious? Start reading Battle Heat today (and maybe even finish it, lol)!
Bestseller… for a little bit
I frowned when I saw the “bestseller” badge beside my book (in both languages) on Amazon.nl. Something didn’t add up, but I laughed it off and decided to just go with it—enjoy it for as long as it lasted, which was about 1-2 hours. But still, it was pretty cool.
Feelings on being published
Honestly, the 14th of February was like any other day, and at the same time, it wasn’t. Because I knew the day was coming, and I’m an avid planner, the release of my book didn’t come as a surprise (I know, shocker). It was kind of… normal, almost too normal. But the knowledge that people would be reading my words, my story, my characters, and form opinions on them felt very special. Also, seeing my book sales add up each day after was very encouraging, wondering what people were going to be reading the book and seeing from what countries they come… Writing and sharing books is a special thing.
So, what’s next now I published my first book?
My plans didn’t include a sequel to Battle Heat at first, but as I was writing the book, I noticed there was another story left untold. That’s why I decided to write another book in this world from other POVs before moving on to my main series. The book cover is in the making as we speak!
I see Battle Heat as a study in writing and publishing: an advancement in my career. This is a lightweight book and story—nothing like the big series I’ve been working on for years. That doesn’t mean this story means any less to me, though! I started writing it as a passion project—just something on the side until I decided to pursue publishing and starting my author career by putting this out into the world (something I never thought I would).
It’s mainly a romance story with post-apocalyptic subplots, whereas my upcoming series is mainly high fantasy and contains romantic subplots. It’s very different, and not in the way that it’s a book I would read.
And holy moly, have I learned a lot from this book!
Until next time.
Lots of Love,
Britt
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