What Happens Next?
Welcome. You’re accessing one of three soft-launch blog entries I left behind to prepare you for the release of my website. In August, I’ll begin telling the real story.
Shaky Beginnings
When I first self-published I Am Tamra, my debut novel, I was still sorting through personal challenges and shaky confidence. While I struggled to believe in myself, I knew I had a great story to tell. But I couldn’t convince myself that I deserved to be called an author. So, I kept that story quiet.
Today, I co-own an executive ghostwriting and thought leadership company, KNG Services. My co-founder, Kristin Woodruff, and I have spent years combining our decades of experience to help CEOs and other C-level innovators share their voices and expand their influence. When I realized I had the tools, resources, and know-how to tackle the publishing process and elevate an author to hold the platform they deserved, I regretted not leveraging that for myself.
Here is where that regret ends.
A New Hope
So far, I’ve pulled out all the tools in our arsenal. I’ve already launched my author platform across several social media sites and have months of mixed-media content to share with my growing networks. This blog marks another first step toward elevating that platform.
Starting in August, I’ll officially add this space, “G. Barrett Author’s Log,” to my mix — a blog about my progress as I finish up the final checks and balances of my completed manuscript. Then, in September, the decision begins: pitch to agents or go all-in on self-publishing.
Along with the prestige and validation of being selected by industry gatekeepers, the traditional publishing route promises wider distribution and established credibility. But it’s a long shot and a lot of waiting: querying agents, submitting to publishers, navigating long production timelines. What happens to the momentum I’m currently building?
With self-publishing, I get speed and creative control. I have the professional team at KNG Services supporting this project with editing, design, and launch support, and I can align release strategies with our marketing timelines. Together, we can make something that looks and feels indistinguishable from a traditionally published novel, maybe even push it further, and on my terms. But will that be enough to give it the audience it deserves?
Here is where I’ll invite you to join me in that decision-making process as I weigh these pros and cons.
Simultaneously Thrilling and Exhausting
Until then, I’m preparing for anything. Around the same time that I officially launch this blog, I’ll begin releasing original SkyWorld short stories. These glimpses into the world behind my novels will deepen your understanding of the lore, the characters, and the possibilities of what may come — in print, on screen, or across other media.
To be honest, it's been a lot of work so far. And I foresee a lot of work ahead in my future. Managing multiple platforms, reshaping one idea into five formats, editing clips, writing posts, recording videos: sure it’s exhausting. I see the same sentence re-sampled through several social sites before I finally get to move on. And it’s not lost on me at all that the push to build a multi-channel launch mirrors some of the performance culture I’m writing about in SkyWorld.
But that’s why I’m doing it. The SkyWorld stories are about attempting rebellion in a world where we don’t belong, and discovering that unless we uncover the system for what it is, our efforts only end up contributing to it. Promoting my next novel is my attempt to uncover those systems.
Here is where I’ll be updating you on my progress. If you're following this early, thank you, and welcome. Let the uncovering begin.
