When I started writing FOR THE LOVE OF DOG, it wasn’t called that yet, and it was nothing more than a handful of notes about the human-dog bond scribbled in the early hours of the morning.
Violet was two years old. Astrid was three months. Little did I know, we were a couple weeks away from the pandemic.
Once everything shut down, I set my notes aside because my hands were full of other things.
But it kept calling to me.
So, I set my alarm for 5 am each morning and chipped away at words until one or both tiny humans awoke.
This was the mood board I created when I was drafting, and I pinned this with a pic of the boys above my desk:
Between 2020 and my book coming out in September 2025, I wrote and rewrote it six times. I pitched agents and took calls with potential partners. My agent pitched publishers. The publishing process was a roller coaster. And, now, here we are. Almost one year after the book finally came out.
Now, as I approach the one-year anniversary of FOR THE LOVE OF DOG, I’m reflecting on everything I’ve learned and how different the reality of publishing looks from the outside.
4 Things I Didn’t Know About Publishing Before I Published a Book
Because I didn’t fully understand these until I had a book on the market!
Unless you’re John Green or Rebecca Yarros, the marketing is on you. Outreach to indie bookstores, event planning, and promotion fall squarely on the writer’s shoulders.
Returning a book costs the author money. As in, the big “read and return” trend on social media? Every time someone reads