Well, I’ve done it – I’ve resigned from my position in a company due to personal reasons, and it’s time I moved on in life. I’ve always truly wanted to dedicate everything to focusing on writing (and similar endeavors) – I have yet to see what I can accomplish when not mentally strained by my day job. I’m ready to see that now.
It’s been tough as a self-published author. To be honest, I absolutely suck at marketing – people generally enjoy the worlds I build like in The Dancing Crow. I am told all the time that my flavor of vampires is incredibly unique, and it’s something I hold with a lot of pride. I also am really happy when people describe my writing as ‘vampire horror’. They’re not lying, as my stuff gets incredibly intense! But with sweet spots as well, since I adore paranormal romance (with lots of magic, naturally.)
Anyway, I’ve been told people enjoy what I have to offer the world, so I’m going to see truly what I have to offer now. I am incredibly lucky and can rely on my lover as I establish over the next few months. I have the privilege to do this, and it really isn’t something available to everyone. I will not be taking this for granted. I’m incredibly far from actually having a decent income, and while we’re not struggling like some folks, we’re definitely not anywhere close to rich. Not that it’s our goal, anyhow. But the road ahead is going to be really difficult, and that’s okay.
In reality, I just want a sustainable income doing the things that I love (who doesn’t?). I’d also love to be able to support other creators I love more than I have been able to. My mental health hasn’t been the strongest lately, but I have a feeling trying this, at least, will help and allow me to express my muse properly.
I have skills I’m taking with me to offer from my last job: Transcription. Given my typing speed is 98 words per minute (yes, I know, crazy right?) I can do things like captioning videos or other such things that require transcription. Combine that with my video editing skills for trailers, narrations, and of course, writing, and you see I have tons to offer. I’ll be working on setting up my Fiverr to encompass all of this while also offering these things on my website. Oh, also, I can definitely research and write up articles, as you can see quite clearly here on this blog, hah!
But yes. We’ll see how this goes, pretty much. I could use all the support I can get! I still would love for more folks to pick up my books as well – I have one coming out on October 31 (Spooky?!) called Claws of Midgard. It’s a Norse Mythology Urban Fantasy where I not only twist Norse mythology, but the concept of vampires & werewolves, too. It’s a very similar flavor to my other writing, so if you liked The Kingdoms of Blood, you’ll be into this, I reckon.
Word of mouth is SUPER important to me, and you’ll see me tweet often about my endeavors asking for support. I hate to come off as pestering (and it will ONLY be on my own wall or relevant posts, I am not about spamming either DMs or other people’s threads) but it’s what I have to do. This blog, of course, will continue to roll, and in fact, be more active than ever. I want to try and release two posts per WEEK. Sounds crazy, but hey, I have ambition. You can give me that!
Des M. Astor 