I had the pleasure of guest-speaking for a Publishing Theory class at Tennessee Tech University last week. I spoke about my journey through small-press publishing and self-publishing as well as the challenges of querying literary agents. It was a great, but moist experience.

My feet start sweating the moment I cross the threshold of any academic building. When I visited White County High School last year to hear Kevin Wilson—bestselling author of Nothing to See Here—I ended the session with inspired thoughts and swamp‑adjacent socks.

Call it high-school PTSD.

I never found a place to belong in the classrooms of Derry, Pennsylvania. Trumpet player in band? Brief and brassy. Soccer player? Too much running, not enough glory. Stage acting? A blast. At least until the anxiety kicked in. (I'd beat those nerves eventually, but it took a few decades.)

THIS WEEKEND! Knoxville BookFest: May 2-3

Nashville Book Fair: May 30th

Sorry, I got off-track.

The most engaging topic in last week's class: how authors measure success.

Creative Fulfillment?

Impacting Readers?

Financial Returns?

Visibility?

Longevity?

Each student had a different answer, and it made me think harder about my own. Out of those five, financial returns sit at the bottom of my list. Sure, it would be nice to pay the bills writing, but I’d much rather have a stranger tell me they connected to a character in my book, or that they LOL'd or cried while reading it. Any kind of movement is magical.

As success goes, most authors don't make a living from books alone, but authors who treat publishing like a business (multiple books, strong marketing, consistent output, speaking engagements, side hustles) earn significantly more. And many now-popular authors got their starts publishing their own works. How about:

Andy Weir - Self-published The Martian.

Beatrix Potter - The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Colleen Hoover - Debut novel Slammed was self-published.

Freida McFadden - Initially self-published while working as a physician.

And there are many more...

I'm excited for The Maroon Candle release on June 4th and taking my author journey to the next level by finding a wider audience.

And maybe one day the socks will stay dry.

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