Indie Life

Hi all! Addison Moore here today with an Indie Life post. What exactly is an Indie Life post? Indie Life posts are meant to share personal experiences, to encourage, to inspire. I hope I can offer you a little of that today.

A couple of years ago, a month after acquiring my dream agent to be exact, I made the decision to go Indie. At the time it seemed an odd decision. I had tried for years to get an agent. Over a decade ago I had a another literary agent who was too busy being sued by her other clients for nonpayment so I bowed out of that contract. Fast forward seven years, and much toil and sweat later, I finally landed another agent, my dream agent. After having a frank discussion with her regarding the slow state of publishing I was discouraged and decided to go a few books on my own. I wanted to put out a plethora of novels, but in the traditional world I was ten years into my career with the books I had already written and each of those would take years to filter out to the public.

I put out my first self-published book in March of 2011. It was a young adult series I had dreamed of for years and was told it would never work, that young adult probably wouldn’t work for me. (Which I found ironic since I’m emotionally stunted at seventeen.) In July of 2011, after having two books out in the Celestra series, the books were optioned for film by 20^th Century Fox. The deal was announced in January of 2012.

In December of 2012 I put out my first New Adult book, SOMEONE TO LOVE. New Adult is a genre long frowned upon by the publishing industry and thanks to a group of pioneering Indies is now an official genre and rightly so. What’s more exciting than the college years? The movie industry has been making films about that era in a person’s life for years and only now are an entire slew of books being written on the subject. It’s very exciting to be a part of this amazing genre.

In January of 2013 SOMEONE TO LOVE hit the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was severely humbled, completely overjoyed, and extremely happy to be an Indie.

I still have my literary agent. I still believe both Indie and traditional routes are great roads to travel, and although one road my not be right for everyone I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a foot in both pools. Being an Indie has opened a lot of doors for me. I know that if I could do it, so can you. I’m not special, or the greatest writer, or even a rebel, I’m simply a person who tried to find an alternative method to get my books out there and met a lot of nice people along the way.

The bottom line is I love to write. My mantra each day is; Twenty-six letters, ready, set, go. 

I’m glad I get to write at the pace which suites me best, and self-publishing has allowed me to do that.  

I hope you found something from my personal experience that encouraged or inspired you.

Here are a few parting words I would love to share; Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever let a rejection stand in your way. Don’t ever stop trying. If all else fails, write another book. Write for your life. You deserve a great one.

Addison Moore is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading. Addison’s Celestra Series has been optioned for film by 20^th Century Fox.

Feel free to visit her blog at: addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com

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