I wrote 40 books in 4 years: here's what i learned

For four years I tried my best to follow the indie writer rapid release strategy, putting out a paranormal or fantasy romance book almost every month! It was tiring & I did a lot of things wrong, but it made me a better & faster writer.

Read the books!
(also available on Apple, Google, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other retailers and libraries)

The Hidden Lands books:

[examenesinternacionalesaf]

See the title
Brandon Sanderson: Finally, I've meet a worthy adversary.

[ManCarryingThing]

really glad this popped up on my feed - this is a super interesting perspective, thanks!

[thesincitymama]

I took notes:

1. It is ok to write some shitty books.
2. Get in touch with your inner teenager.
3. You must enjoy yourself.
4. Craft an outline. It’s ok to recycle plot framework.
5. Accept that you can’t control how much someone will ultimately enjoy your work.
6. Find a method of marketing that feels authentic and sustainable for you.

[ramonarobot]

You say witty and sarcastic things in such a calm demeanour. You seem like the type of writer who likes to torture your characters. I like that.

[starla.]

“I don’t get all the people, but I get MY people.”
And, your people get you. Every audience should have an author that gets them. Well done.

[carolbenavidez]

Do you know how many books I didn't allow myself to finish because I beat myself up into believing they were not "perfect" enough? Decades worth! This is the most honest writing advice I"ve ever heard. Thank you!! 💖 (You're also hilarious and made my day!)

[hewhomakesnosound]

That "this is how literature dies" quip got me really thinking. I don't know why but it feels like the straw that broke the camel's back. I think I've been too worried about not being worthy enough to write. I don't know where this line of belief came from, but I'm sick of it. When I look back over the last 10 years I could have probably made at least 5 books by now, that's me low balling it. I've let myself stagnant in some self fulfilling prophecy. My brain basically came to conclusion that if literature is going to die then the goddamn it I'm going to either contribute and killing it or I'm going to end up being so good at it that I'll revitalize it.

[dreamer-]

As someone who’s been trying to write a book for the last 7 years, I needed this. Thank you.

[Rynewulf]

Honestly sounds better than my 0 books in 28 years.
Burnout is like the most productive mental health problem

[lilymcculloch]

As an aspiring author, thank you so much for the candid advice!! <33

[morganfronk]

I love the line “your art has worth”. That really hit me. Thanks for inspiring me to write again!

[carsonallen]

47 year old male here, and I’m an aspiring cozy fantasy writer. I just wanted to say that your video is very inspiring and helpful to me

[LadySkippy]

I used to work at a Christian bookstore and there were some authors who wrote DOZENS and DOZENS of books. They found a formula and then just edited it for each book and people loved it.

[starcrossreverie]

I really needed to hear this. I've been looking at my ideas in a "this needs to hit a large audience" instead of a "this is the story I want to tell". The worry of writing a book and it not getting attention is still on my mind, but it's very nice to hear your perspective on things. I want this journey to be fun, not something where I'm worried too much about the numbers.

[AudsLecker]

I love what you had to say about dropping what you "should" do and focusing on having fun. The last year or so I did the same thing, instead of focusing on stuff like what is gonna get me the most views on youtube or crafting the "perfect" video or project, I started just doing whatever seemed really fun at the time. And honestly I've made some of my favorite videos and projects due to that. They're certainly far from perfect, but I feel much more interested in what I'm making now and more motivated to actually MAKE it.

[JoJo-zlqh]

You showed up on my feed and I just had to click on 40 books in 4 years! That’s so impressive idk how anyone can do it! I write so much and only seem to be able to do 3-4 books a year!
I just published my first book last Jan and have another one coming out this month. I love hearing about your experience. Can’t wait to watch more of your content. ❤

[chyzanne]

Oh my goodness this video is probably one of the best things I have ever watched on authortube. I am definitely saving this for those hard days when I get down about my writing and publishing. I just found your channel and I am so excited. I hope you do more videos like this, it was everything I needed to hear!! I have been indie publishing for about 3.5 years and have put out 20 books and written probably 30-35 (I stopped counting a while ago lol). My main goal is to be prolific, and just get all the ideas I have in my head on paper and in book form. But so often I worry about the marketing and publishing side, or I feel insecure about maybe not writing the best books of my career, or bad reviews etc and your take on things is just such a breath of fresh air. I love how you just seem so relaxed about writing, to me writing is often a source of stress even though I love it, because I just feel like there’s so many things I should be doing or ways I should be improving, but this makes me feel like, Hey maybe I should just calm down and focus on the fun and channel my teenage self 😄 It reminds me of an adage I heard from Dean Wesley Smith that transformed my whole mindset around writing: “Dare to be bad.” Sometimes we just need to focus on having a blast with our worlds and our characters and not spend so much time worrying if it’s “good” or not! 😆 Thank you for making this video, I’m definitely subscribing!!

[rubinagomes]

This felt like a warm hug from a fellow writer. Thank you! 💖

[seanfaherty]

Remember Shakespeare was considered trash in his time.

[vigilantebeats]

Your channel will be big. Love the honesty and the behind-the-scenes of your writing career.