OK. Here we are, a handful of days into a brand a New Year, and I'm kicking off 2022 with a very different attitude, a much clearer focus, and a spanking new blog!
Turning The Page is going to be, I hope, something not just for me but for all my fellow writers and authors, especially those who are, like me, indie authors. Because the struggle is real, right?
Posts on this blog will take the form of, well, anything, really. Some will be diary posts, my own writing journal if you like as, 30+ books on, I continue to navigate the world of indie publishing. These posts may be nothing more than ramblings, they may sometimes contain something mildly useful to somebody else, I don't know, I'm kind of making this up as I go along. But one thing I do want this to be is a place where I can, hopefully, connect with others, be they authors, readers or fellow bloggers. Writing can be a lonely business. I'm trying to make it less so.
Anyway, before I begin any of that, I should probably tell you a little bit more about me.
My name is Michelle Roberts, but I write under the name Michelle Betham. My maiden name. I've also written one book, a psychological thriller/domestic drama called The Wife (published through One More Chapter) under the pseudonym M.L. Roberts, but that pen name will never see the light of day again. Pyschological thrillers are, for me, great to read but not so much fun to write. But, you know, I was willing to try anything once. Still am, to be honest.
I started out as an indie author back in 2011, when KDP was in its infancy, but it was always my dream to be "traditionally" published. So, after self-publishing a handful of books I started submitting to publishers and, to cut a long story short, I won a competition ran by One More Chapter (formerly Harper Impulse, a division of HarperCollins) in 2013 with my Lapland-set romance The First Christmas Without You and ended up publishing 6 books in total with them. My contract wasn't renewed after the publication of my final book with One More Chapter, The Wife. Was I upset? Yeah. A bit. Of course I was. But by that time, the world of social media was taking over everything, and quite honestly, I knew I couldn't compete with those authors out there who had You Tube channels, tens of thousands of followers on Twitter; a super-popular Instagram account, authors who knew how to market the hell out of their books. I'm completely and utterly crap at marketing, believe me, I suck at it.
Agents were also starting to come into play again, and I knew in my heart of hearts that the kind of books I wrote were never going to be taken on by an agent. I'd tried, when I was writing for One More Chapter, to write the kind of things I thought readers wanted to read, and what publishers needed to see from their authors, and I just wasn't enjoying it. I write in several different romance genres, having published everything from romcoms to dark romance to erotica, I kind of let my mood guide me and take it from there. And even though I knew I was letting go of a dream by deciding not to submit to agents or publishers again, I'm ultimately much happier now, back as an indie author. Traditional publishing, and all the stress that accompanies it, it just wasn't - isn't - for me. I never started writing to make money or to be famous, I write because it's all I've ever wanted to do. Simle as that. I've been scribbling down stories since I could pick up a pencil, and now I'm writing entire books, bringing characters to life; every day I sit at my desk and lose myself in these worlds that I've created. I'm very lucky to be able to do what I love. Very lucky.
Outside of writing I, of course, love to read. And I'll read anything. Any genre. I love them all. But my biggest influence has to be the late, great Jackie Collins. I loved her books, her characters, the escapism she created; big, bold stories that took you on a rollercoaster of a ride. I have a signed photo from Ms Collins herself, a personalised autograph, and it sits on my desk so I can look at it every day and be inspired to be the best writer I can be. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. During the pandemic my writing suffered, and I don't think I was alone in that. The inspiration and focus just wasn't there, but it's coming back. I'm getting there.
I also love music - I'm one of those authors who needs music playing when I write, some of my best ideas have been inspired by a song or a lyric, I can't write in silence. I can't do that.
I'm addicted to streaming services, I mean, who doesn't like a good binge-watch? Seriously, I struggle to think of a life without Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple+TV... is that sad? Maybe. But you never know when a TV show might also throw you that tiny glimmer of inspiration you've been looking for...
OK. I think I may have rambled on enough now. Hopefully that's given you some sort of an idea about who I am, but as time goes on I think you'll get a better grasp of that. I'm just someone who loves to write, and now I get to do that. I'm also immensely proud to be an indie author. We get some bad rap, at times, from people who seem to think - still - that being an indie author means we have no ambition or that we're just not good enough to get that publishing contract. No. Wrong. I had that publishing contract, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my writing is more than good enough to gain another one, I just don't want that. I don't. The reasons why I don't want to go back there are numerous, and I might talk about it one day in another, separate post, but in the meantime, underestimate an indie author at your peril. There's an army of us out there, and we're ready to take on the world...
Michelle x
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