What is a hybrid author?
It means I require less fuel. Kidding.
(Actually, it sort of means I require more.)
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Hybrid simply means my books are published both traditionally (meaning places like Macmillan and Bloomsbury) and independently. When I first set out on the journey to be published, I only wanted the biggest houses out there. It was a fine, but lofty goal, and yet with my brilliant agent blazing the trail we made it happen. However, even with my prolific work ethic and her professional contacts, it didn't guarantee everything I wrote got picked up. As I began setting projects aside, I grew, let's say, disenchanted with the publishing industry. So much so that I wanted to walk away from it completely. But then I started listening to other creatives and truly embraced the fact there are so many ways to put work in the world.
We don't always have to wait for someone else to say "yes".
All About Wandering Moth Press
Becoming an author is a massive learning curve.
Too many people think once you sell a book you're rich and famous and sent out on book tours and signing a thousand copies and live happily ever after. In some cases, some very, very few cases, this happens. (Well, I don't know about the happily ever after part, but the other stuff is at least possible.) For the other 99% of us, even if we've spent countless hours and hundreds of our own dollars promoting our book, this is not what happens after publication. This is why it's sometimes frustrating for me to hear people say things like "I'll have time to write a book when I retire" or "I've never written anything but I have a couple great ideas for novels" or my favorite, "You wrote a kid's book? I need a job; that's what I should do!"
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Okay. Be my guest. No one is stopping you from writing except YOU.
But it's work, folks. Before, during, and after a book deal. Nonstop work.
And this isn't even taking into consideration the years you might have spent writing the book in the first place--you don't often get paid for that! You have to love this craft with every part of your soul. You have to love it whether you think you will ever be published or not.
You have to be a writer. (Or a celebrity. Oddly they get published with no problem.)
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My perspective on my art has changed many times throughout my life. I've never been a brand writer--the kind of author who is going to put out the same kind of work over and over, like Stephen King or Rick Riordan or even many lesser known authors who have found a niche they love. There's nothing wrong with that--heck, I'd love Rick Riordan's royalties! But I like to experiment with different styles, explore genres, and write for all ages, both fiction and nonfiction. I meander. This could be a slow burn to successful career or, I suppose, it could fizzle out. But any career can fizzle out and happiness depends on what's most important to you.
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For me, it's simply never losing the love of creating stories, no matter where it takes me.
And that's how Wandering Moth Press began.
Our Books
This is a growing endeavor, so stay tuned for more!
