Being an Indie Author ~ by Mira Jeffreys

It’s a joy to be able to share a little about myself with you. I am a contemporary women’s fiction genre writer. I describe myself as an easy-going type of individual who always looks to encourage those around me with positive thoughts and actions. I am a mother of six beautiful children, a grandmother of three, and a wife of one. I’m an original Georgia Peach who met and married my dream guy and relocated to Kansas. You can imagine how many Wizard of Oz and Dorothy references my family back home in Georgia has plagued me with, but it’s all in good fun! My family is a source of motivation, encouragement, drive to press forward with my writing career.

Podcast Interview

Recently, I had my first podcast interview with Maxwell Ivey, aka “The Blind Blogger, and he asked me to tell his listeners why I became a writer, I had to pause and think about it for a moment. Hearing someone ask me this question was a sobering experience to say the least. What made me want to write? Without a doubt it was when I came to the understanding that I could not only touch a person’s heart with my words, but I could also make a positive change in someone. It was at that moment when I knew what I wanted to do. 

But getting to this point of being an indie author wasn’t easy. For twenty years, I worked as a freelance ghostwriter and helped other people accomplish their goals and dreams of publication. It paid the bills and I was comfortable doing that. I enjoyed seeing how my skill set and talents helped others. I served many clients from oil industry executives to indie writers. While I was working as a ghostwriter I was struggling in a failing marriage. I was homeschooling my children, running another small business, and dealing with the pressures from all of that. Writing was my escape! I enjoyed opening up my email and seeing another job waiting for me.

Sadly though, my marriage of nearly 20 years ended, and suddenly I was thrust into a position where ghostwriting was the sole means of income for myself and children, so I threw myself into the work. I worked hard and endeared myself to my clients. By the time I looked up, I had a healthy portfolio of professional and loyal clients around the globe.

Eventually myself life’s situation turned around and I found happiness again. After I remarried, I wasn’t expected to be the sole provider anymore. My new husband, who also was my best friend, wanted me to enjoy life for a while. So, I took some time to enjoy the things I really love. Along with baking and gardening, writing works of fiction is one of them. Creating characters and fictional worlds makes me feel a kind of contentment that can’t easily be described with words. Writers can understand what I mean when I say that my characters would not allow me to sleep! Try as I might, once I had a plot idea in my head, I couldn’t keep them quiet.

After the birth of my first grandson I promised myself that I would

My son and I holding my first book

finally write that novel I’d been wanting to write for years. Once I dedicated myself to the idea and with the encouragement from family and friends, I completed my debut novel, entitled Archer. I can’t begin to describe the feelings of accomplishment that I felt having finally published something for me! All the years of writing and publishing for others could not compare to achieving a lifelong goal of publishing a novel for myself. I dedicated my first novel to my parents and another very special person, whom without their love and support, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. It took many years, but one of my most sought after dreams came true.

I encourage all who has the dream of writing their own book to reach after that dream and don’t stop grasping until you hold it in your hands. It’s the greatest feeling of accomplishment, a feeling that cannot be described, it can only be experienced. Never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough or you’re not skilled enough. You just need to have the desire to tell a good story and never give up!

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