Kandid Katie: I've been published!

It’s been a month since the anthology containing my short story was published. My very first success came just weeks after beginning my author journey in earnest. I was lucky to have success so quickly, but rather than get complacent, I have been nurturing the confidence my success gifted me. I'm sure this is just the first post like this I will have the joy to create.

My story started out as an idea I had to get out before I could sleep. I didn't know what I would do with it, but I had a solid intro for a story typed into my phone. When I saw the call for submissions from Cloaked Press, I immediately thought of the story start I'd tucked away some weeks before. I reread it, pleased it was actually decent (sometimes what we think is wonderful before bed is a horror in the morning). I got straight to work turning that idea into a short story, a writing style in which I don't normally feel comfortable because I have so much to say.

The due date was only a few short days away, but this story practically wrote itself. I had only my children as beta readers and sounding boards, and I must have read the story out loud to myself more than a hundred times. Finally, with the deadline right in front of me, I launched my story in an email and hoped for the best.

Honestly, I felt really good, both about my chances and about what I'd accomplished. I'd done my research and gotten a good feel for the publication. I wrote a short story in a couple of days, and I was proud of it. I put my intentions out into the universe, and I waited.

I only had to wait just over a month to get the email that made me laugh, cry, jump up and down, and cheer. I ran around the house telling my kids, and I told my closest friends, but I was afraid to tell anyone else until I felt I had something more concrete. (Imposter syndrome is real, people.)

Finally the publication preorder was posted on Amazon. Now I could scream from the rooftops. I was being published. In an actual book. That people could buy. This was amazing.

I was excited to have a story in the world that people objectively judged as good. I wasn't really afraid of my friends and loved ones reading it because if they didn't like it, it wasn't for them. Obviously someone thought it was good enough to pay to print. This was a huge grown-up moment for me that only took me 42 years to get to.

As it turns out, I've heard only positive feedback. I get a lot of "How on earth did you come up with that idea?" and similar questions, without any sarcasm. (And believe me, there are plenty of people who would let me know if they were unimpressed.) If anyone didn't like it, they're keeping it to themselves.

If they did decide to share, would I be upset? I legitimately think I wouldn't. I am really proud of my story and even prouder of my accomplishment. Now, if Amazon UK would just get it together and let me buy the paperback version like all the other Amazon sites, I'd be thrilled. I want to hold my story in print! Until then, I'm happy looking at the Kindle version and saying, "That's me!"