Welcome to the Chaos: Why I Chose the Indie Publishing Path and Brought the Mic Along With Me

"Self-Publishing is not a fallback plan. It is a tool in your toolbox."

Hi! I'm Mica Merrill Rice, your podcast captain speaking, and I'm here to guide us through thoughtful discussions with authors and industry professionals so that you can confidently and professionally self-publish your book like a trad-author. 

In this episode, I share with you 

- a little bit about me

- my journey to becoming a writer

- the wins and woes of publishing my first book

- and the why behind starting this podcast. 

So let's be bold. Write Smart. And Keep Turning the Pages. 

Have a publishing question? Email me at mica@micamerrillrice.com

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Website: micamerrillrice.com

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Facebook: @micamriceauthor

TikTok: @micamriceauthor

"Traditionally Self-Published" theme music is written by Landon Bailey and performed and produced by LNDÖ

Transcript

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Thank you.

SPEAKER_00: 0:05

What's up plot twisters and a warm welcome to my page turners, the readers and listeners just stepping into the story. Whatever title you fancy today, I'm so happy you're here with me. I'm Mika Merrill-Rice, author, indie publishing advocate, and your podcast captain. I'm here to help bring you knowledge to help you make your books the best they can be. Whether you want to write your own art or you're on the fence, I'm here to support your journey. So be bold with me, write smart with me, and let's keep readers turning our pages. This is your captain speaking. A little about me. I'm a mom to two sons and a black lab named Denver, Nona to my furry grandson named Oliver, and wife to my best friend Dave. I'm a part-time, for now, author, and I also work full-time as a program manager in the corporate world. In my spare time, when I'm not writing or recording, I volunteer as a soccer manager for my youngest and cheer my sons as loudly as whenever I get the chance. They love it. I'm certain of it. They just don't know it yet. Writing was something I have done for decades, but never published anything until 2024 when I published my first thriller. But it didn't start with fiction. I started with a bleeding heart. Back when I was a teen, I had a hard time. I guess most of us do, right? I struggled with suicidal thoughts. I had a hard time with my peers at school. Basically, I hit rock bottom. Some Someone suggested I keep a journal, so I did. I began confessing everything on these blank pages that no one would ever see and it felt good, but I still struggled. I had so much pain inside and craved an even bigger creative release. This is when the poetry started. I had no formal training. No one told me how to do this. It was like this thing inside me calling me and somehow I knew how to do it. Like a child learns to walk or speak. I began writing pages and pages of poetry about the feelings I had inside me and some about the people in my life. Though all of my poetry was written from the darkest moments of my life, the first one I ever wrote was about love. I have never published a single word of my poetry other than the love poem and I likely never will. I still keep those old tattered pages in a special folder as a reminder of how far I've come. That oldest piece, it was written over 30 years ago. Writing was not a linear path it was uneven windy and there were even avalanches along the way I didn't always know I would write a book but when I look back the signs were always there in English classes in high school and in college I excelled not because I was a straight A student I wasn't I hated secondary school and I never wanted to be there but English classes and being part of the yearbook yes please that was different I loved those classes and that was reason enough to go to school My professors told me that I had a gift. I didn't believe them, of course, but still, I kept writing. I did this until my first son was born and then shifted all my focus on raising my son and building my career. I was in a different season of life, going through different things. The writing stopped. I could not find the words, or maybe they couldn't find me. I went on, went divorced, lived some single mom years, eventually finding the love of my life, married again, had one more beautiful son, but still... the words would not come back. I would need to hit rock bottom one more time. I had just turned 40 and I wanted to do something other than sit behind a desk and manage projects and programs all day. I had a ton of stress and no outlet. I call it the midlife crisis or perhaps it was depression. Depression is wild if you've ever dealt with it. You can either open your eyes or close them. In this case, they were opened once again. I wanted more for myself and I I accepted that it was okay to want something for myself even if only part-time. I wanted to be creative again. I'm always encouraging my sons to reach for the stars and pursue their dreams but I wasn't doing this for myself. Eventually the idea started to surface again. I took advantage of this awakening and I put the pen back to paper. It was January of 2020 and I had set a resolution to write a book. I had this crazy idea running around in my head for a few years that had come to me when I was rocking my son to sleep one evening. I sat down and I wrote my first draft of my book Deep in the Woods. It took me 10 months to get my zero draft done. While in the midst of revisions, life would get in the way once again. Edits were slow. I had moments when I couldn't even open my Word doc and others where I was productive. Eventually it all got done. I did it alone. I did it all without asking questions, only using YouTube and Google searches to get my answers. I never felt so So happy and alone at one time. I created my book in a vacuum. Too scared to ask questions of another human being. I didn't know if what I was doing was right or wrong. I didn't even know if the book was great, but I was happy with it. My first book baby for the world to see. Ultimately, I was proud of myself. Good or bad, I felt a sense of pride. And now it was time for me to let it go. To traditionally publish or self-publish? That is the question. when it was finally time for me to publish I had choices to make I could write a query letter try to find an agent and then try to land a traditional deal or I could learn how to do it on my own I never thought of self-publishing as a fallback plan I thought of it as a tool in my toolbox I had read so many blogs and forums about the pros and cons of traditional self and hybrid publishing I weighed them all there was no right or wrong answer my goal was to publish that was it? Plain and simple. I decided on my first project that I would do it on my own. There was far more that appealed to me than not. This was a chance to have more control over what went into the book and I could publish on my own schedule. Naturally, I had some hesitations. I was worried that no one would take me seriously. This is when I decided that if I was going to self-publish, I would run this like a business, because it is. I would need to run my own social media campaigns and pay for ad space I scheduled book signing events and engaged with readers wherever I could find them. I carefully considered every decision for my little company because it cost me money and lots of it. If I was going to spend my money on ads, I ought to have a great story too. No spelling errors, no plot holes, and I had to make sure my cover popped just like my best-selling peers. You see, I wanted to do this like a traditionally published author would or as close to it as I could get. I didn't want to self-publish because it's free. It is not free. I would invest in a professional editor, narrator, engineering studio, and eventually a cover artist because having a professionally produced book was important to me. I thought I had done all the right things, and in some cases, I did. But I realized after I hit publish on my first book that I still had so much to learn. There were things that I could have done better. This is a feeling that never goes away, and honestly, I hope it never does. I hope I'm never comfortable with my writing I want to challenge myself and continue to improve with time this meant that I would need to start approaching people to ask for help with my second manuscript now underway I was determined to not only approach this as professionally as possible but that I would need to finally open my door and ask questions the questions that the craft books could never answer for me but I knew if I still had questions there were others that likely did too so I decided to bring a microphone with me. I have a mic and I'm not afraid to use it. This show was born out of a simple idea. Authors, any author, deserve traditionally published knowledge and tools for their toolbox. I wanted authors to know that you can do this without giving up your independence if you don't want to. When I set out on this journey, I noticed that there are plenty of resources for traditional authors, but what about authors who are curious about what it would take to do it on their own like a traditional author. I saw an opportunity to ask questions and learn from the best in the industry so that authors can make informed decisions about how they want to publish their work. The goal of my show is to give you another tool in your toolbox. I want you to think of self-publishing as an option, not a last resort. One that you can use to get your art into the world and own it. And I also want you to do so professionally and confidently so that your unique voice does not get lost in the crowd. I've read so many books that I've never seen the eyes of another human being before being published and it shows. Please, for the love of wine, don't do this. You and your book deserve to stand up to the best sellers in the world. There are many options for publishing and ultimately the choice is yours. This podcast is for the serious writer, for those that are determined to go about this the right way, for those that want to know what is possible, for those that that want to make the dream a reality. On my show, you will find a mix of guests and topics. I will interview traditional and self-published authors, debut authors, influencers, marketers, editors, booksellers, and so many more. We will cover what you need to look for, how you can craft your book to stand out, and at the end of each episode, you'll get actionable tips that you can apply to your writing and your publishing journey. My hope is that you will have the confidence to make an informed decision about how you want to publish your work. I want you to see what is possible. I call my community of listeners the plot twisters and the page turners. The plot twisters are the writers who want to learn more about what it takes to be a traditionally self-published author. Maybe you're stepping into this for the first time. Perhaps you've been in the game for a while and are exploring your options. Whatever the case, you're ready to learn everything there is to know about this business and we are ready to help. And my page turners, you are my curious readers, the ones who love to talk about books, read them, and are hungry for all the behind the scenes that go into the process. Don't worry, you'll get to hear from your favorite authors and what inspired them to write. You may even meet your new favorite author right here. Or perhaps this will open a door to a world you never imagined for yourself before. So if you're ready to write it, to own it, and to publish like you mean it, you have found the right place. Are you ready to get serious? If you're ready to learn and be a part of the growing traditionally self-published community, I welcome you. You can do this and we've got your back. And if you feel that this podcast resonated with you, I encourage you to subscribe, leave a review, and don't forget to share with your author and reader friends. Let's build this community up together. I'm here for you, cheering you on wherever you are in your journey. And feel free to join me on my sub stack to come and chat with me about your journey too. I love to engage with new friends. To kick off my first season, I'll be publishing a short back to school miniseries starting with editing 101. Editing by far is one of the most crucial things you can do to level up your writing journey and you're about to learn all about it. So get ready students. I've invited some industry pros to share their knowledge and their best kept secrets. So lock in with me and let's get ready to grow. Until next time, be bold, write smart, and keep turning those pages.