The first anniversary of "Wicked Hunt"

In Wicked Hunt, empath Nathaniel Colt is thrust back into the world he thought he’d left behind—a world of danger and violence.

First, thank you all so much. I’m humbled by your messages, reviews, and ratings. I'm so happy my words have reached and entertained so many people.

With that behind us, let's discuss three key lessons I learned from publishing Wicked Hunt and, subsequently, Wicked Justice.

Lesson one: I’m unusual but not unique

All writers have a distinct perspective of the world. But I soon discovered I wasn't as unique as I thought, a realization that was strangely freeing.

I always had an active imagination. When I work on my books, I see the scenes in my mind, as if a movie trailer is playing with stunning cinematic glory. It’s the same when I read a book. If it is good, the words dissolve, and I become enveloped in the story.

Whenever I mentioned this to friends and family, they just stared blankly. I could tell they thought I was bonkers. It was annoying, but talking to other authors who experienced the same phenomena eased my mind.

Lesson two: Being an author can be lonely

I also learned self-publishing is hard work, and it's not a good fit for everyone. It's a ton of work, and you can get lonely sometimes.

Self-publishing entails more than uploading your book on Amazon and watching the cash roll in. Self-publishing a book involves many steps, from outlining and writing to platform building, editing, and cover design. After publishing, you need to obtain reviewers and ratings.

With the many tasks, it is necessary to prioritize them. Pursuing a self-publishing career is akin to juggling many full-time jobs, which leaves you barely any free time. You'll also have to battle project fatigue and self-doubt.

I read many tactics to fight those. Some work better than others. But in the end, to me, it bottles down to one thing: you have to keep writing. As American writer Jodi Picoult said: “You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”

Lesson three: It’s all worth it

It's worth all the hard work when readers appreciate my writing. Seeing my books on the shelf makes the investment worthwhile; I'm glad I did it.

I've had a successful year selling roughly 400 books and exceeding 25,000 page reads on Kindle Unlimited. Those numbers seem small, but they mean a lot to me. And the reviews have been great, too!

Buy Wicked Hunt

Thanks for picking up one of my books! Your support means the world to me, especially so early in my career. Thanks for believing in me!

To celebrate our anniversary and say thanks, I'm giving you an amazing deal—67 percent off Wicked Hunt! Head over to Amazon and grab your copy for just $0.99!