Guest Author Emerald Barnes

Today, I welcome author Emerald Barnes to the Realm. Emerald is the author of two wonderful YA thrillers, "Piercing Through the Darkness" and "Read me Dead." Today, Emerald is visiting the Realm to discuss what it's like to be a self-published author. Take it away, Emerald!

"If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death." - Steven Pressfield

 

As a self-published author, this quote hits home to me on so many different levels.  It’s terrifying putting your work out for others to read.  You run the risk of being opened up to criticism.  I knew that I was terrified when I self-published my first novella, PiercingThrough the Darkness. 

I was a new author, and I knew absolutely nothing about marketing.  Basically, it just sat on Amazon’s virtual shelves with hopes that someone would come around and buy a copy.  Well, as reviews began to come in (that wasn’t from family or friends), I began to dread it even more.  No, they weren’t bad reviews, but what would happen when/if I did get a bad review?  I wasn’t sure that I could take that.

Then, as I grew as an author in that same year, I published a few short stories for free.  Reviews came in for them calling my stories “stupid,” etc.  It hurt, and I lost all of my confidence in my writing – not that there was much confidence there to start with. 

The truth is there will always be something that will hurt us about our writing or whatever form of art we express ourselves in.  It was just a matter of accepting that.  

Is accepting it easy?  No.  I’m still working on that.  I don’t like getting hurt.  No one does, but it comes with the territory, unfortunately.  But, you just have to stand back up, shake of the dust, and keep going.

And that’s what I did.  I gathered enough courage to self-publish another novel, Read Me Dead, a year later.  But when people started reading it, I started losing confidence again.  Would this novel be received well?  Would people like my main character be loved or hated?  “Should I even publish it?” ran across my mind a lot.  But just like with my first novella, I published it.  

It was well met with some, and with some others it wasn’t.  But again, that comes with being an author.  But because I wasn’t confident with my work didn’t make me any less of an author.  I am a writer.  I have flaws, but I will always be an author.  It scares me, but it’s also exhilarating.  It’s not always easy, but it can be the best thing you’ll ever do if an untold story lies within you to tell.  You must tell it and share it with others.  I don’t think you’ll regret it.  I haven’t. 

 

 

About Emerald:

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women.  She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.  Sometimes she even has to spell Mississippi, M - I - crooked letter- crooked letter - I - crooked letter - crooked letter - I - hump back- hump back - I.

She's the author of Read Me Dead and Piercing Through the Darkness.  She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages!  Her short story, Wishes, was published by Phyllis Scott Publishing in their book, Blue Legs and other Coming of Age stories.  She also has short stories available for free on Smashwords.

She's constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with.  She blogs at yaindie.com as a contributing author, emeraldbarnes.blogspot.com and ebarnes23.wordpress.com which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much! 

She's an auntie to two beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn't imagine spending her time in any other way! 

She's a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person.  God is number one in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor in her life.

 

Connect with Emerald:

Website

Blog

Inspiration Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Google +

Amazon Author Page

Buy Links:

 

Piercing Through the Darkness

 Amazon

Createspace

 

 

Read Me Dead

Amazon

Createspace                    

Nook

Kobo

Smashwords

 

Thank you so much for visiting the Realm today, Emerald! You're welcome to come back whenever you'd like.