I’m excited to finally announce that my debut novel Lost + Found: A Douglas Mountain Mystery is officially official. That is to say that after years of writing and months of learning how to self-publish, it has made its way to being completed.
This book was the start of a lot of things for me. It was a seedling in my brain for many years before I released it onto the page. Once I actually got to writing, it inspired me to go to school for creative writing at SFU (which I completed in June 2023). It opened up the floodgates in my brain for other ideas, and since completing this novel, I have written four other novels (not yet published) and six short stories (three have been published).
Some people have asked why I wanted to start out with self-publishing for my first book.
When in school, they taught us about both traditional and self publishing. My goal is to try both and see which works best for me. Lost + Found has been self-published for a few reasons. The first being that series are good for self-publishing, as authors can build an audience over time. With this first book, I’m not overly concerned about making a lot of money. I see it like how a drug dealer pushes product. The first one is free (well, cheap) to get readers hooked. I’m hoping to get this book in as many hands as possible, to build that audience and get them coming back for more.
There are advantages to both types of publishing. Obviously with traditional publishing, authors don’t need to wear a million different hats. Marketing, editing, design, formatting, and everything in between can be handled by the publishing company. While trying to get a book traditionally published can take a very long time and is a lot of effort (querying agents and publishing companies isn’t for the faint of heart), it’s a lot cheaper.
With self-publishing, authors need to do everything, or at least hire or bribe people if they can’t or don’t want to. Luckily, I had a lot of help from my husband, friends, beta and arc readers, online resources, and an editor I hired. But along with self-publishing, authors get to retain their rights, get a larger percentage of the royalties, and total control over the book. Most traditional publishers don’t even let authors pick their cover.
So here I am. Officially a published author (with a cover of my choosing and creation). My book is now available in e-book and paperback format.
Signed paperback copies will be available on my website soon. Stay tuned for that, and reach out if you’d like to put your name on the list for one.
I’m hoping to eventually get this book into libraries, but if you would like to read it and are experiencing financial hardship, please reach out and I’ll be happy to send you a digital copy. Books should be accessible for everyone, no matter a person’s current situation.
Thank you to every single human that made this book possible. Je t’aime.
Great job, I will definitely be checking this out!