Thoughts on Publishing My First Book

OUT IN THE OPEN is officially available for purchase. But before I continue pimping my book, I want to tell a quick story about how I got here.

First, let me pimp my sexy cover quickly. Okay, good. I won't pimp again until the very end.

Last June, I couldn't breathe. 

I'd been reading about self-publishing for years. It was getting bigger and better and more writers were finding success. I got more and more interested...but I never took the plunge. I would read JA Konrath and Hugh Howey and Susan Kaye Quinn and Lindsay Buroker's blogs and get inspired. I can do this.

But I did nothing. 

This went on for years. Read about indie pubbing --> Get inspired --> Do nothing --> Rinse and Repeat

Maybe my mind had reached a tipping point, I don't know. But I was reading about indie pubbing last June, as I usually did on slow work days, and I kept telling myself I should do this. I should take the plunge, take a chance. And then I went out for my lunch break. As I was walking around, my heart began racing. It thumped in my ears and drowned out the traffic. My vision began to go white, like the sun was too bright. I bent over and gulped for air. I couldn't tell if I was going to throw up or pass out. What was happening? Was I having a panic attack?

I realized that I couldn't sit on the sidelines any longer. I couldn't keep saying I was going to do something. I had to freaking do it. I had all this interest and excitement over indie pubbing. I had to get it out of me. 

And so right then and there, hunched over in downtown Chicago taking calming breaths, I made a promise to myself. By my next birthday, I would publish a book. That was 16 months away -- a realistic timeline to write and research and give this book the launch it deserved. I returned to work with a spring in my step. I had a plan.  

And now here I am. Putting out my first book. Indie pubbing has been such an exciting and fun and busy and, most of all, EMPOWERING experience. All of my expectations have been surpassed. I have loved connecting with the M/M romance community. You guys are so enthusiastic, and you know your way around a hot gif! 

I still can't believe I accomplished this. I made a promise to myself, and I kept it. That rarely happens with me. If you are thinking of publishing a book, do it. The time is now. You will not be disappointed. There's only upside. 

OUT IN THE OPEN is about coming out of your shell and discovering your true self. I never realized how much it mirrored my own indie publishing experience. I hope you all have your own Can't-Breathe-in-June/Secret-Sex-in-the-Library moments. The time is now. 

Thank you for reading and supporting me on this journey.

Sincerely,

A.J.

p.s. Oh yeah, here's some info about my book - OUT IN THE OPEN

Libraries are meant for studying – not sex

College sophomore Ethan Follett never says what’s on his mind and never wants to rock the boat. After a high school social life spent anonymous and alone, things are finally falling into place for him. He’s found a group of friends just as studious as he, and is on track for a promising legal career. Out in the open, things couldn’t be better, but secretly Ethan yearns for some real excitement in his life.

He finds it in cocky fratboy Greg Sanderson, who challenges every rigid, preconceived notion Ethan lives by. Soon, their sparring relationship turns sexual, and these enemies-with-benefits get their freak on all over campus. Yet the more Ethan comes out of his shell, the more Greg retreats into his, working overtime to keep his ladies man public persona intact. As the sex gets hotter, and they get closer to getting caught, one part of their arrangement can’t stay hidden any longer: love.  

  

You can purchase OUT IN THE OPEN at these fine retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

AllRomance Ebooks

Smashwords