February marks a milestone in my writing career. One year ago on February 12th—also my birthday—I released my first self-published work. Lucky in Loveland is the first book in the Welcome to Loveland series and I honestly wasn’t sure it would ever be published at all.
I always understood that self-publishing was a whole different bag of crazy cats than being with an actual publisher, but the reality almost broke me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist with an ounce or two of OCD and a whole heaping of anxiety, so going out on my own was simply terrifying. Don’t get me wrong, after Amber Quill closed in January of 2016, I knew I wanted to try something different—take the reins to my own wagon, if you will.
When it comes to most publishers, they supply covers, professional editing, formatting, uploading, and even a little promotion, to authors. They take those things out of the writer’s hands, and I can honestly say that was something I didn’t think about until I had to consider it all for myself.
When writers self-publish, it’s up to them to find a cover artist, to choose photos for said cover if that’s how they work—I usually have my cover boys picked out ahead of time—to find betas, proofreaders, an editor, and a formatter. Some authors are talented enough to do their own covers, to self-edit to a high degree, and to format their work into the various categories of ebooks.
I am not one of those authors.
So I went about finding all the pieces of the puzzle called self-publishing. It took time, caused a lot of stress, and made me want to just quit writing, period. (Y’all know I’m a little neurotic, right?) But with the help of fabulous, giving friends, I did it! Lucky in Loveland was released on time and I was so happy at the response to my first self-publishing accomplishment.
Since then I’ve self-published two more books in the Welcome to Loveland series—Lost in Loveland & Mistletoe Reunion in Loveland—plus, I rereleased Moonstone-Stone Magic, book 1. And now to celebrate my one-year-anniversary, I’ve written another short story in the Loveland universe—Finding Forever in Loveland—to be released in time for Valentine’s Day.
So…was it worth the stress and uncertainty, the tears and hair-pulling? Yes.
About the Author
K-lee Klein loves guys with long hair and tattoos, and you’ll often find her front and center at her favorite rock concerts. She has bounced around Western Canada all her life, but will always consider the solitude and beauty of the British Columbian mountains home. Her life is blessed as the proud mother of three now-grown but still spoiled kids, the servant of two bossy felines, and the wife of a truly patient husband.
Her writing muse is terribly temperamental, so to keep him close by and in check, she had him inked on her left calf. The gorgeous, long-haired, mostly naked, kneeling angel that resulted is truly a work of art, although he’s still a handful and hopelessly uncontrollable. She writes on his schedule and inspiration.
K-lee tends to fall easily into obsessions. When something grabs her attention, she jumps into it headfirst with complete abandon. Actors, musicians, superheroes, fictional characters, and brainwashed assassins all hold spots on her cannot-get-enough list. She once followed Thirty Seconds to Mars around the United States and Canada and saw them perform fourteen times that year. Obsession sometimes leads to ideas for her kneeling angel to turn into stories.
Although an introvert in person, she’s extroverted online and has met many wonderful friends there, sometimes with the added fun of meeting them in person at gay romance conferences. She’s grateful for all the people in her life who accept her as she is and support her through her ups and downs as mom, wife, and joyfully obsessed writer.
Places to find K-lee: Website || Blog || Twitter || Facebook || Facebook author/reader group