My Amazon Nightmares

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Some of you will already know about my Amazon publishing nightmare, because I've made mention of it on my Facebook (or I've spoken to you behind the scenes and have sought advice). But for anyone who doesn't know…

Mid-January 2024, Amazon's automated systems decided that I'm a fraudulent and misleading person, and closed my account. It was a heartbreaking moment, because I honestly believed that the 2024 version of my book would get published without it being available for purchase through one of the largest online bookstores. To my relief, that is not the case—I managed to convince Amazon to give me my KDP account back—but we were running close to the wire.

There are positives in all of this mess, even though it is a mess. And there are lessons that I'm learning too.

Stick around, and I'll fill you in on the details.

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2023 has been a productive year

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I have an annual ritual, where I look back over the year that has just been and reflect on the little wins. I look at the goals that I had set myself the year before and take the time to reassess my progress, shifting tactics if needed.

Well, I can happily report that the year 2023 was highly productive. And 2024 is shaping up to be just as productive.

I finished the fiction novel that I had been working on since late 2022 and started a new novel. My nonfiction book, Hidden Traps of the Internet, is in its final production stages, due to be released in February 2024. I've launched new services for Black Wolf Editorial Services, with more coming online next year. And I've managed to help the writing community around me grow, rebooting the support network that we all needed.

It's been a good year!

Time to look back at the nitty-gritty.

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Confused Mother

I wish I knew… (2023 Edition)

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In one of my writing groups, a newer writer has decided that she was going to write a blog about all the things that she's learned while writing her first novel. And she asked what some of the other things are that the rest of us have learned throughout our writing careers.

Well, I have to admit that I've learned so much over the years. But there is a list of things that I wish I knew when I started.

So… Here goes.

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We could have had a moon base by now

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It's fun to sit down with my son and watch the old science fiction TV shows and movies. I've successfully got him hooked onto Star Trek (and he informs me that Deep Space 9 is his favorite series from the franchise). We've binge-watched Farscape (by far one of the best science fiction shows… so funny). We've had discussions about Battlestar Galactica, admiring how the various way the 2004 series pays homage to the original 1978 series. And when he's home on holiday, we've been diving into Babylon 5.

I've successfully convinced him that Firefly should have never been taken off the air when it was, and we both agree that the psychedelic trip into the monolith at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey is just a "WTF?" moment. (But seeing the original gave him an extra level of appreciation when Farscape did their parody scene.)

During our binge watching of old TV shows, he's been laughing at the absurdity of the situations (and how the writers got away with a lot of things that they would never be able to get away with today). But it's the inaccuracies of the past timelines for the show that gets him the most. How wrong did fiction get their predictions for reality? Whenever he gets incredibly cynical, my response seems to always be the same.

Before you start to criticize the science fiction of old, highlighting how wrong they got the predictions, take a look at the real history and the trajectory that we were on when those books were written and when the films and TV shows were filmed.

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Don’t ask about the published works. Ask about the work-in-progress.

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I became serious about publishing of fiction back in 2013, starting the process about learning everything that I can about what it was really going to take to publish fiction. In 2015, I chose to retrain as an editor. And every single day since I opened up for business, there has been this underlining doubt.

How can I prove that I know what I'm talking about when I'm haven't got the proof in the pudding?

Every time I encounter a writer who is focused on books that I've published, I find myself in a position where I have to defend my choices, which is something I shouldn't have to do. And when I get accused of being a hack because very few of my clients are published, I get defensive of my clients and want to go in for the attack.

I thought I had come to terms with my demons and had developed strategies to get past them so I could do my job. However, a recent interaction via Instagram brought all the insecurities flooding back, making me question all of my choices—yet again.

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