As you can tell I’ve been radio silent for a while.  I’m more active on Twitter, Instagram, and my personal Tumblr.  Trying to remember to update my website with my crazy life can be a challenge.

I’ve been working on new projects and trying to wrap up the Wonderland trilogy.  Plus I have been helping my mom, juggling learning two languages (Korean and Italian), and trying to figure out if I wish to go to college or not.  There are a lot of stressful things going on around me, but the one thing that hasn’t changed since I last posted has been how much I write.

I write every single day.  Writing is the one thing I will always be sure about.  Most people search their whole lives for the one thing they are passionate about and I was lucky enough to find mine.

Life as a writer can be crazy, especially a self-published author.  I knew when I decided to self-published that it wasn’t going to be an easy road.  There are so many things that you have to think about like cover design, marketing, editing your book, etc..

I can tell you editing is one of the hardest things to do as a self-published author.  Some authors pay an editor to look over their book and make sure everything is spelled correctly and that the grammar is correct.  I did not have that, the reason being is because I can’t afford it.  I’m still finding mistakes in my book (which I will go and edit).  So if you read a self-published book don’t judge the grammar and spelling too harshly because not everyone can afford an editor.

The other most stressful thing for a self-published author is finding that perfect cover for your book.  Hiring a cover designer can be expensive, and once again I could not afford that.  I was lucky enough that my friend designed the first cover for me for free.  But when the second book came out I found two covers that matched and I chose to go with them and rerelease the first book with the second book.

You can also buy a premade cover, which is what I did.  But the thing about buying pre-made is trying to find the one that fits your book.  Also trying to find a cover that will draw people in.  Let’s face it, we judge books by their covers.  So you want to find a cover that fits but will also draw people in.

But despite all the frustrations and heartaches that come with writing a book and publishing it, there is nothing like the feeling of seeing people reading your book and liking it.  I’m incredibly grateful to all the people who read and review my book.  You work hard on your book and you’re afraid no one is going to like it, but then you are proven wrong.

Sometimes writing can be frustrating, sometimes you can beat yourself up, but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.