A Little Self Publishing Farewell: Sometimes it’s time to start over :)

Hello, everyone!

Well, I have a little writing announcement. I’ve decided to unpublish my three self published poetry books.

Before anyone gets concerned, nothing particularly dramatic happened. I haven’t suddenly developed a vendetta against poetry or decided that my past writing is the literary equivalent of a crime scene. I just think I’m ready for a little reset.

For a while, self publishing was a really fun little venture of mine. There is something incredibly satisfying about taking something you’ve written, turning it into an actual physical book, and getting to hold it in your hands. Even better, getting to share those books with other people who enjoy what you create. I loved being able to order copies for myself, share them with friends and family, and occasionally have someone else pick one up because they liked my writing. That was pretty special, and I’m genuinely grateful to everyone who supported those little projects.

But lately, I’ve found myself feeling a little uncertain about where I want to take my writing.

I’ve been writing poetry, working on fantasy ideas, dreaming up stories, and generally bouncing around between various creative projects. And while I still love writing, I’m not entirely sure what I want my writing career (if we’re calling it that) to look like. I’ve started thinking more seriously about traditional publishing, particularly for some of my fantasy projects, and that has me reconsidering how I want to approach publishing moving forward.

I’ve also heard that having a collection of self published books that haven’t necessarily gained much traction can sometimes work against you when approaching traditional publishers or literary agents. I’m not entirely sure how much truth there is to that, and I don’t want to pretend I’ve become an expert on publishing overnight. But it’s something I’ve been curious about, and I figured it was worth considering as I think about my next steps.

And to be completely real, I think I just like the idea of a clean slate.

There is something about being a writer that seems to involve a constant cycle of creating something, being incredibly excited about it, finishing it, sitting with it for a while, and eventually deciding you want to do something completely different. You spend months or years building something, only to look at it later and realize that your interests have shifted, your skills have changed, or your vision for yourself has evolved.

Maybe that’s just part of being a creative person. Or maybe I’m incapable of leaving well enough alone. Who knows! Certainly not me.

Either way, I don’t look at those three books as wasted time or something I wish I hadn’t done. They were a fun little chapter in my writing journey, and I got exactly what I wanted out of them at the time. I got to make books. I got to share my poetry. I got to experience the excitement of publishing something I’d created, and that’s worth something all on its own I think. 🙂

So, thank you to everyone who read them, bought them, gifted them, or encouraged me along the way. It genuinely meant a lot to have people take an interest in something I’d put so much of myself into.

As for what’s next, I’m not entirely sure yet.

For now, I’m giving myself a little room to experiment, write new things, explore different directions, and figure out what I want this next chapter to look like.

Here’s to new projects, new stories, and occasionally making a mess of everything just to see what happens!

Happy writing, as always!!!